Ailin Perez and Norma Dumont’s rivalry reached a controversial conclusion at the UFC Vegas 121 co-main event. However, their personal grudge spilled over after the bout, with Perez exposing Dumont for threatening to “hit” her in social media DMs.   

During a recent appearance on the Ariel Helwani show, Perez displayed the screen of her personal Instagram DM where Dumont sent her the menacing text message in Portuguese, in reply to the X-rated Instagram story Perez posted right after her win last Saturday.

“We don’t like each other,” Perez said through a translator. “We are not friends. We are never going to be friends. Funnily enough, after the fight, she actually wrote to me personally on Instagram, and she actually told me that after the fight, she was going to find me and beat the s*** out of me. 

“She’s looking for it right now. Here’s the message: ‘I have already hit you once, and I’m going to hit you once again when I see you. You already know that you didn’t win. Wink.’” 

Dumont’s threat to Perez comes right after the controversial conclusion to their fight at the UFC Vegas 121 co-main event. After three rounds of a rather lackluster showdown, the judges declared the Argentine the victor by 29-28 unanimous decision. The Brazilian was visibly upset with the official scorecards as she left the Apex without granting the post-fight interview. 

The fans subsequently labeled the fight a “robbery,” feeling that Dumont did enough in at least two rounds to win the bout.

However, what’s more interesting in Dumont’s threatening text that she vowed to hit Perez “once again.” Though Dumont didn’t specify when she attacked her bitter rival, the Brazilian’s admission could suggest her striking the Argentine in their prior confrontation at the UFC Performance Institute last year. 

Leading up to their fight, Perez had already explained the details of their infamous altercation. However, she has once again taken a dig at Dumont for attempting to hit her whenever they crossed paths at the UFC PI.

“Every single time she sees me at the PI, she tries to look at me like she’s going to hit me,” Perez added. “Even when we were in the locker room, and we ran into each other while I was by myself, she would do things to make me think that she’s about to attack me, but she never does. But usually, she’s like that when she’s around her female friends, like the girls she has around her.”    

‘Fiona’ claiming that Dumont has only attempted to attack her makes it unclear whether an actual physical altercation took place between them. However, it remains evident from the Brazilian’s DM that she has been aggressive. In fact, Perez mentioned during the interview that Dumont had thrown a tirade against her in an Instagram story before the fight. 

“Before the fight, she posted a story, and Norma wrote in Portuguese, ‘F*** you,” Perez added further. 

Perez and Dumont’s rivalry finding a new battleground in Instagram DMs could appear as a surprise. But they are far from the first fighters to do so. Previously, Sean Strickland admitted to sending Dricus Du Plessis threats via direct message after the South African mocked ‘Tarzan’s’ traumatic childhood at the UFC 297 pre-fight press conference.

With the UFC bantamweight fighters trading barbs after the fight, Norma Dumont has finally broken her silence on losing the grudge match against Ailin Perez at UFC Vegas 121.  

Norma Dumont refuses to accept her controversial loss vs. Ailin Perez  

Norma Dumont skipping the post-fight Octagon interview showcased how disappointed she was with the result of her grudge match. However, the Brazilian contender voiced her disdain by branding the decision utterly “absurd” in her Instagram post.

“Guys, the fight just ended, and for me, it was one of the biggest absurdities I’ve ever seen in MMA,” Dumont said in Portuguese on Instagram. “For me, the second round was clear, and in the third, the Argentine did nothing. She went to the hospital to get her head checked because of how f**ked up she is.”

“She did nothing in the third round. Nothing, and she knows it. I was knocking her around and talking to her. I was hitting her and talking to her, and she was desperate. I was well aware that I won the second round without a shadow of a doubt. It was one of the biggest absurdities I’ve ever seen in MMA, and in all sincerity, I do not accept this.”

According to ESPN’s stats, Dumont outlanded her opponent in overall significant strikes, 46 to 37. Both fighters landed one takedown on each. However, Perez’s control proved far superior at 3:41 compared to Dumont’s 0:40.

When it comes to scoring a fight, damage often takes precedence over control, and Dumont believes she had done enough to clearly win the showdown.

That said, with the bad blood still burning, it will be interesting to see whether the UFC runs the rematch back between them.