Finally fought for the first time in almost two years – and after a failed shot back two weeks ago – Aspen Ladd never seemed to start.

Consequently, Norm Dumont (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) didn’t have to do much work to come to a unanimous decision on Ladd (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) with a pair of 49-46 scores and a. to arrive 48-47. Ladd rose to 145 pounds two weeks after a bantamweight weight loss went wrong and forced her to step out of a fight with Macy Chiasson.

The women’s featherweight fight was the main event of UFC Fight Night 195 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It was streamed on ESPN +.

“I know she took up the fight on short notice. But she’s a 145. She has all the strength and I want her to keep fighting in this (division), ”Dumont said in her post-fight interview about a translator. “That’s what we trained for – (so as not to be broken down). We know that their strength is down to earth. “

Dumont pumped her thrust early on, while Ladd circled around the outside, looking little for openings for the first two minutes. Shortly after half time they traded with the right hand, but nothing stood in the way of a real swap. With 20 seconds to go, Ladd landed her second shot of the round, and it caught Dumont’s attention enough to signal her to do it again. But it was a mostly uneventful opening round built on the jab for Dumont.

Ninety seconds after the second round, the story was the same – jabs from Dumont and little action from Ladd. Eventually she kicked and two minutes later Ladd shot into the picture for a takedown. She hugged Dumont to the cage and tried to pull it down, but Dumont circled and returned to the center.

Ladd still had little answer to Dumont’s stab on the third. Dumont didn’t have to do much – her jab didn’t have to land a high percentage because Ladd didn’t have many answers. Shortly before the center line, Ladd tried again to bring Dumont down and pressed her to the fence. But Dumont defended again and made it back into the middle with two minutes to go. Ladd tried a combination late in the round, but it really was the first time.

Between round three and four, Ladd’s trainer Jim West was bluntly in the corner with her and asked her what she was doing and told her she was three laps behind. He told her not to be sloppy, but she needed an unquestionable end to win the fight.

In the fourth, Ladd came forward quickly and struck, then pushed Dumont to the fence again. For more than a minute she tried to get Dumont to the screen, but couldn’t. Ninety seconds into the round the fight went back to the middle. Dumont landed a punch in the middle of the frame but began to back off Ladd’s forward movement. Ladd headbutted about two minutes from time, but not long after that Dumont landed a takedown and went from the station to work on Ladd. Ladd was able to reverse position and swung away for the remainder of the lap.

On the final lap, Ladd flashed forward and cuffed Dumont. But Dumont turned her over and stood on his feet. They traded positions on the fence and Ladd stayed after a takedown in hopes of bringing the fight to the mat – where she is known for putting up with fights. Ladd landed an elbow about three minutes before the end, but it was one and done.

West continued walking towards Ladd between laps and asked her what she was waiting for. In the fifth, Ladd did her best job of the fight, almost all of it in clinch positions. But she had never got Dumont in real trouble, and all Dumont had to do was stand on his feet, play defense, and sail to victory.

Current UFC Fight Night 195 results include:

Twitter reacts to Norma Dumont’s win over Aspen Ladd in the ho-hum UFC Fight Night 195 headliner

UFC Fight Night 195: The Best Photos from Las Vegas



View 33 images

UFC Fight Night 195: Official Scorecards from Las Vegas



View 18 images

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