Norma Dumont is done with the UFC. The Brazilian bantamweight, ranked No. 4 at 135 pounds per Cageside Press, announced on Instagram Tuesday that she requested her release and the promotion granted it, even though she still had two fights remaining on her contract. Nolan King was among the first to flag the news on X, and Guilherme Cruz followed with the full story at MMA Fighting.
In a video posted alongside a short written statement, Dumont, 36, explained that she’d seen the end coming before her most recent bout. “I still had two fights left on my contract with the organization,” she said (translation via MMA Fighting), “but even before my last fight, when I still had three fights remaining, I already had information that the UFC probably wouldn’t renew my contract once those fights were over. And I had already been told that the UFC wouldn’t renew it after my final two fights either.”
The math stopped working for her after that. Dumont said she didn’t see a path to a title with only two fights left, which led her to consider retirement. She and her boyfriend, UFC middleweight Marco Tulio, had already agreed she’d hang it up by the end of next year, possibly sooner, because they want to start a family.
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“Thank you UFC for the 8 years together. Thank you to all UFC fans and we’ll see you soon,” she wrote.
The run
Dumont (13-4) leaves with a 9-4 record across 13 Octagon appearances. She debuted in February 2020 and was stopped by Megan Anderson that night, the only time a UFC fight of hers ended early. Every other one went to the scorecards. From 2022 to 2025 she strung together six straight wins, a stretch that included former featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie and Irene Aldana and closed with a win over Ketlen Vieira.
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The exit comes after consecutive decision losses. The first went to Joselyne Edwards, and the second came at UFC Fight Night 289 in September, when Ailin Perez took a unanimous decision.
What’s next
Retirement is on hold. Dumont said she was approached by a major boxing promotion, and a different MMA organization has offered her a title fight. She called both options financially worthwhile but admitted the boxing route has her attention. “I have to admit that I’m leaning a little more toward boxing,” she said. “I think it would be a really cool transition, an incredible opportunity, and I felt that excitement again.” She declined to name the promotion, saying talks are confidential.
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My take: when a top-five contender is told her contract won’t be renewed, the smartest move available is the one she made. Two more UFC fights would have meant two more risks with no title at the end and no deal after. Asking out now gets her to free agency while she’s still ranked, with a belt offer elsewhere in her pocket and a boxing payday on the table. For a fighter who heard the final bell in 12 of 13 UFC fights, a few rounds of pure boxing in her last competitive year sounds like a fun way to spend 2027.
