Many readers might be rolling their eyes after viewing the title and with good measure. A lot of the recent winners of The Ultimate Fighter have been less than spectacular, and some have even started exiting the UFC.
John Dodson seems to have what it takes. He wins fights against bigger men and sometimes with spectacular finishes. He also knows how to talk. One listen to his postfight interview with Ariel Helwani confirms it.
A look at the comments below the video also shows that he has the ability to polarize fans one way or the other.
But it’s one thing to look impressive in a fight against another housemate of a reality show. How he handles fighters whose careers were made in the Octagon because of their records and performance will be something quite different.
There is another factor at play as well.
When fans question whether a fighter will do well in the UFC after being on The Ultimate Fighter, it usually boils down to if fans think they can do well in the division or grow into a fighter who can beat the champ.
In Dodson’s unique case, it involves actually creating a division.
Dodson is a small fighter. In fact he stands just 5’3″. He should be fighting at flyweight, which has a limit of 125 pounds in boxing, but since the UFC doesn’t contain that weight class yet, he fights at bantamweight with the other 135-pounders.
Sooner or later, unless he can achieve what Frankie Edgar has at lightweight, he will meet a bigger fighter who can bully him around the cage and push him around.
Even if he does end up like Edgar, he will constantly deal with exciting wars that abuse his body in a way that will shorten his career. It’s something that Dodson will hopefully avoid having to do, but that comes down to Dana White, the president of the UFC, and how soon he decides to make an eight-weight class.
After all, Dodson was willing to go on reality TV show to gain entrance to the premier MMA organization in the world. It’s not likely that he will step away just to fight in a natural weight class.
Flyweight is where Dodson shines though and given a chance he could again. He just needs a chance to get there.
So will Dodson be a star?
It depends on when his next fight is and if the UFC has changed its structure by then.
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