Former UFC champion Germaine de Randamie set to return in April vs. Norma Dumont

Germaine de Randamie, the UFC’s inaugural women’s featherweight champion, is set to make her return to action after 42 months away.

On April 6, De Randamie will take on Norma Dumont at a UFC Fight Night event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup with a person with knowledge of the booking following a social media post by Dumont. The news first was reported by Laerte Viana on Instagram.

While both women have competed in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions during their UFC careers, De Randamie (10-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) and Dumont (10-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) will meet at 135 pounds.

After she gave birth to her son in March 2023, De Randamie targeted a return in the fourth quarter of the year. While that timeline didn’t come to fruition, she now is set to enter the octagon the first time since UFC on ESPN 16 in October 2020.

The Dutch striker submitted Julianna Peña in the third round of their bantamweight bout. It was a Performance of the Night-winning finish, which marked a return to the win column after a bantamweight title challenge loss to then-champion Amanda Nunes. De Randamie was booked to fight Irene Aldana more than a year later, but had to withdraw due to injury.

Dumont, currently No. 7 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie women’s featherweight rankings, has been active. She made two appearances in 2023, and currently is on a three-fight winning streak with wins over Danyelle Wolf, Karol Rosa and Chelsea Chandler. Dumont, 33, will face a former UFC champion for the first time in her tenure with the promotion.

With the addition, the current lineup on April 6 includes:

• Marvin Vettori vs. Brendan Allen
• Norma Dumont vs. Germaine de Randamie
• Lukasz Brzeski vs. Valter Walker