Things got heated between women’s featherweight fighters Norma Dumont and Chelsea Chandler earlier today (Fri., July 14, 2023) following their intense faceoff at UFC Vegas 77’s official weigh ins (replay HERE).
Dumont and Chandler will collide on tomorrow’s six-fight main card live on ESPN from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, but they nearly let their fists fly on Friday. The two fighters came face-to-face for a very real staredown before parting ways. Minutes later, Dumont and Chandler cross paths on the Apex floor.
It’s unknown at this time why the featherweight fighters have bad blood, but they quickly started jawing at each other. Chandler seemed to flip Dumont the bird, which promoted the Brazilian fighter to hold up two fingers of her own and walk towards her opponent. Luckily, security and officials were in the way, otherwise fight fans would have had Saturday’s action come sooner.
Dumont vs. Chandler pic.twitter.com/7BCF2PFptr
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) July 14, 2023
Check out the video footage above courtesy of Dumont’s manager, Alex Davis, as well as their staredown moments before they walked backstage.
Dumont, 32, is looking to improve her impressive UFC record to 6-2 with a win this weekend in Las Vegas. It will be another bout at 145 pounds for the No. 12-ranked women’s bantamweight. Chandler, 29, will hope to build off her memorable TKO win over Julija Stoliarenko in her debut last October. She has won her last five pro fights.
What do you think? Does this pre-fight squabble add any pizzazz to a fairly lackluster UFC Vegas 77 main card?
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 77 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN/ESPN+) at 10 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 77: “Holm vs. Bueno Silva” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.