Norma Dumont vs. Ailin Perez prediction, pick, time for UFC Fight Night 289 - MMA Junkie

Norma Dumont and Ailin Perez meet in the UFC Fight Night 289 co-feature on Saturday at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.

Dumont (13-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) will look to rebound from a unanimous decision loss against Joselyne Edwards in April. Perez (13-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) enters on a six-fight winning streak. Her most recent win was a decision over Macy Chiasson in February.

The co-main event in Las Vegas features a Top 5 grudge match between Norma Dumont and Ailin Perez.

Both women appear to have no shortage of motivation going into this one, which could make this fight even weirder considering how 'bad blood' battles tend to traditionally play out in MMA.

However, from a stylistic perspective, I can't help but favor Perez.

Even though Dumont stands at an impressive 7-1 in the Apex, her low-output style makes the Brazilian's fights much closer than they need to be. Add in the fact that Perez is a solid wrestler and one of the few fighters who can hold a candle to Dumont's size, and I suspect that the smaller octagon will actually favor the Argentinian.

The official pick is Perez by unanimous decision.

The oddsmakers and the public favor the fighter from Argentina, listing Perez -158 and Dumont +128 via FanDuel.

Dumont and Perez are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 9:45 p.m. ET. The fight streams live on Paramount+.