UFC 191 plays host to the flyweight title match we have all been waiting to see. Demetrious Johnson defends the 125-pound title belt for the seventh time this weekend in Las Vegas against the man whom he beat in his first title defense—John Dodso…
UFC 191 plays host to the flyweight title match we have all been waiting to see. Demetrious Johnson defends the 125-pound title belt for the seventh time this weekend in Las Vegas against the man whom he beat in his first title defense—John Dodson.
Injuries have kept this rematch off the table for some time, but Dodson is healthy again and riding a three-fight win streak. After nearly a year away from the cage, Dodson returned in May to defeat the ever-tough Zach Makovsky in a grueling three-round fight.
Johnson, on the other hand, has been very active and very dominant. Since the 2013 fight against Dodson, Johnson has defended the crown five times with four finishes. John Moraga, Joseph Benavidez, Ali Bagautinov, Chris Cariaso and Kyoji Horiguchi have all come up on the losing end against “Mighty Mouse.”
The Johnson-Dodson is almost surefire fireworks.
Who holds the edge? Who walks out the champion? Let’s take a look at the head-to-toe breakdown for the Saturday, Sept. 5 championship bout.
Jon Jones used to shine like Leroy Green. The man known as “Bones” was all kinds of magnificent in the cage. We watched him decimate the best fighters in the world in a way few had ever done. He became arguably the greatest fighter in MMA h…
Jon Jones used to shine like Leroy Green. The man known as “Bones” was all kinds of magnificent in the cage. We watched him decimate the best fighters in the world in a way few had ever done. He became arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history.
Outside the cage, we initially saw Jones as a clean-cut individual—or “Hannah Montana,” as Jones’ teammate John Dodson recently pointed out at a UFC 191 media luncheon. There wasn’t any reason not to shine the halo over Jones’ head early in his UFC career. The guy was saying all the right things and kissing babies.
He stopped a would-be thief from robbing an elderly couple and went on to defeat Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the UFC light heavyweight title in the same night. Let that sink in for a moment. The man stopped crime and won a world title in the same night. That’s some real-life superhero stuff right there. It was only natural that fans would gravitate toward Jones.
But then the cracks began to show.
Weeks after defending his UFC title against Rashad Evans, TMZ reported Jones was arrested for DUI in 2012 after crashing his Bentley into a pole in Binghamton, New York. Then earlier this year we learned he had tested positive for benzoylecgonine, the main metabolite for cocaine, during a random drug test leading up to his January fight against Daniel Cormier.
These were all signs of spiraling behavior that culminated into a hit-and-run incident in April. Jones was arrested on a felony charge for running a red light and crashing his vehicle into another vehicle occupied by Vanessa Sonnenberg, a 30-year-old pregnant woman.
MMAFighting’s Marc Raimondi attended the UFC 191 luncheon, where Dodson claimed Jones wasn’t the “perfect angel that everyone thought he was to be.” When the world assumed he was “Hannah Montana,” Jones came in like a wrecking ball and “Miley Cyrus” came out:
You guys keep on thinking that he’s supposed to be like Hannah Montana, but really he was Miley Cyrus. …He had this safe zone and every one of them made sure he was this perfect angel. There’s no such thing as a perfect angel. I don’t think even think Mother Theresa was a saint her whole entire life. Oscar Wilde said that every sinner has a future and every saint has a past.
Jones is currently working hard to get his life together. He has completely disappeared from social media, and according to Dodson, he is starting to invest time with his team at Jackson’s MMA.
As far as fighting is concerned, Jones’ coach Mike Winkeljohn told Submission Radio the former UFC champion might never compete again. He is still waiting for the legal process regarding the hit-and-run to play out.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
UFC contenders Andrei Arlovski and John Dodson are riding high after their wins at May 23’s UFC 187 event in Las Vegas.
The Team Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA standouts apparently wasted no time getting back to the gym, but instead of polishing up their…
UFC contenders Andrei Arlovski and John Dodson are riding high after their wins at May 23’s UFC 187 event in Las Vegas.
The Team Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA standouts apparently wasted no time getting back to the gym, but instead of polishing up their MMA skills, they engaged in a little lighthearted pro-wrestling-style combat.
Arlovski—a UFC heavyweight who has won five straight, emerging as a legitimate title contender in the process—stands 6’4″ and weighs somewhere around 240 pounds. He’s massive.
Dodson—a UFC flyweight who has won three straight, also emerging as a title contender in his division—stands 5’3″ and walks around somewhere around 150 pounds. He is small.
The size juxtaposition alone makes this a fun watch, but I particularly enjoyed Dodson’s reaction to a flying Arlovski headed his direction. Catch that around 0:38 into the video.
Otherwise, this looks like some good fun between teammates, but the lingering issue with it is, of course, the risk of injury.
MMA fighters suffer injuries frequently enough as it is, so one can question how intelligent it is for two surging fighters on the cusp of title fights to engage in some high-flying WWE-style activity. Dodson, in particular, only recently recovered from ACL surgery, which put him out of action for almost a year.
Despite defeating his opponent, Zach Makovsky, at UFC 187 via decision, Dodson did look a little rusty, and it’s unclear whether he was still suffering from some lingering effects of that injury inside the Octagon.
The point is fair, but I personally think we should take this for what it is: two teammates and friends having a little fun and relaxing after months of hard work paid off for them inside the cage.
John Dodson took a unanimous decision against a game Zach Makovsky in the featured preliminary bout at UFC 187.
Makovsky forced Dodson to be a defensive fighter. Makovsky’s tight defense, wrestling and left hand created a lot of issues for Dodson. He …
John Dodson took a unanimous decision against a game Zach Makovsky in the featured preliminary bout at UFC 187.
Makovsky forced Dodson to be a defensive fighter. Makovsky’s tight defense, wrestling and left hand created a lot of issues for Dodson. He was not able to be the dynamic, fast-paced fighter he typically is. And it may have made him a better fighter for it.
The 15-minute flyweight tilt gave good insight into both competitors, and this is what we learned.
What We’ll Remember About This Fight
Nothing.
It was an OK fight. It was technical and tactical, but it didn’t offer anything exciting.
The flyweight fight underwhelmed and will be forgotten. That is unfortunate.
What We Learned About Zach Makovsky
Makovsky answered the question whether he can compete against the elite. He definitely can.
A lot of times wrestlers can break into the top 10, but they fail to show their ability to compete against the top five. Nik Lentz comes to mind. Makovsky proved he is able to contend against the top of this division. That is not to say he doesn’t have work to do.
Makovsky needs to show more offense. His left hand was on point in this fight, but a bit more offensive activity will go a long way.
What’s We Learned About John Dodson
We learned he is fine, which was a big question entering this fight. He was away from the cage a long time recovering from injury, but he looked solid at UFC 187.
It wasn’t a spectacular performance, but Dodson had a lot of cage rust to work out. It was also not a stylistic matchup that leads to an exciting, fast-paced fight. Makovsky forced Dodson to fight a more tactical fight.
The best news is that we learned Dodson returned at 100 percent. That is great for the fans, the UFC, the flyweight division and, most importantly, Dodson.
What’s Next for Makovsky
Makovsky will need to regroup, but as a top-15 fighter, he likely won’t fight an unranked opponent in this thin division. No. 12-ranked Dustin Ortiz slots in just fine.
Ortiz vs. Makovsky would make for a wonderful preliminary contest on a future Fight Night card. It will be exciting and move the winner up the ladder for another top-10 fight.
What’s Next for Dodson
Demetrious Johnson. Period.
Dodson is the No. 1-ranked fighter in the division. He’s charismatic, flashy, technically sound, has knockout power and, most importantly, gave Johnson his toughest fight in the flyweight division.
Dodson nearly finished Johnson, but the champion recovered and took over the fight. It was a big learning experience for Dodson. That only makes a rematch more exciting. He is the lone man in the division who can give Johnson a run for his money.
UFC 187 is an important night for the flyweights, as two key matchups will take place Saturday and could provide us with the next flyweight title contender. John “The Magician” Dodson will make his return to action against Zach Makovsk…
UFC 187 is an important night for the flyweights, as two key matchups will take place Saturday and could provide us with the next flyweight title contender. John “The Magician” Dodson will make his return to action against Zach Makovsky on the preliminary card, and Joseph Benavidez will battle John Moraga in the pay-per-view main card opener.
We haven’t seen Dodson in the Octagon since his June 2014 TKO victory over Moraga because he was sidelined with a torn ACL that required surgery last July. At the time, he was thought to be the next challenger for Demetrious Johnson. However, the injury took him out of the immediate conversation, and a win over Makovsky would put him right back in.
Dodson’s 2013 championship fight against Johnson has served as his only defeat inside the Octagon and one of Johnson’s closest fights at flyweight. He holds a first-round TKO win over current bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw and is considered one of the few remaining interesting matchups for Johnson at flyweight.
Benavidez has already had his first and second chances against Mighty Mouse and came up short both times. The two fought in the first ever UFC flyweight championship fight, and Benavidezdropped the decision to Johnson. He worked his way back up the ladder but suffered a devastating knockout loss in one of Johnson’s most impressive performances to date in their rematch in late 2013.
Benavidez has been utterly dominant against everyone other than Johnson lately, and he might be the best flyweight in the division not named Mighty Mouse. But he’ll only be given so many opportunities to climb back to the top, and each climb gets longer and more arduous.
He might be able to best Moraga on Saturday, but will three straight victories be enough to get a third crack at Johnson?
If Dodson goes and does what he does to put Makovsky away impressively, he’ll most likely be the next challenger for the title. Although we haven’t seen much in the weakness department from the champion, Dodson’s hands are hard to deny, and people will still want to see that rematch.
For Moraga and Makovsky, UFC 187 is a chance to take someone’s spot at the top.
Dodson and Benavidez are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, and have been in those spots for quite some time. If Makovsky can derail the comeback of Dodson, he’d be hard to argue for the shot himself. He’s a former Bellator bantamweight champion and has won five of his last six fights.
It hasn’t been decided by the UFC who will fight for the flyweight title next, but we will probably have a clear idea come Sunday morning. We may end up with an emphatic victory in both fights that requires a title eliminator, or we have our next flyweight title challenger. We could be looking at the first round of another flyweight tournament.
UFC 187 is a big night for the little guys. For Dodson and Benavidez, it is about holding onto their top spots and reminding fans why they belong at the very top of the division.
The stakes are high for the flyweights at UFC 187, and we should be in for some very high-level, fast-paced fights.
Would you rather be bored or annoyed?
It’s kind of a reductive way of thinking about it, but you have to admit: It does fit in 140 characters.
These days, sometimes that’s all you need. And that’s probably why John Dodson doesn’t mind couching it in th…
Would you rather be bored or annoyed?
It’s kind of a reductive way of thinking about it, but you have to admit: It does fit in 140 characters.
These days, sometimes that’s all you need. And that’s probably why John Dodson doesn’t mind couching it in those terms, even though one of those rather unflattering descriptors is self-directed.
See, Dodson has had some time to think lately. Dodson has looked on as MMA‘s biggest talkers market themselves into main events, regardless of their size. Coming back from a major injury, Dodson has watched from the sidelines over the past year as Demetrious Johnson—the UFC flyweight champion, one of the two or three best fighters in the world and the only UFC flyweight to ever defeat Dodson—drove their division into the public-opinion ground.
Fear not. Or fear—that’s your call. But Dodson’s ready to take the wheel.
Prior to his fight with Zach Makovsky on Saturday at UFC 187, the not-personality-deficient Dodson is applying the full-court press to not only get a rematch for the belt but to become the new—and in his mind, improved—face of the 125-pound weight class.
“I’m the savior of the division because Demetrious Johnson is so boring,” Dodson said recently in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report. “People want someone they love and they can cheer for. DJ is not that person. They say they like him. They say, ‘Oh, good job.’
“Then they interview him, and it’s boring…Some people hate me, they call me a cartoon character. But people want something amazing. I’m happy. I’m energetic. That’s me.”
Dodson is certainly comfortable in his own skin. Some people get agitated by what they see as his silly, over-the-top theatrics at weigh-ins and other venues, dating back to his 2011 stint as a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter. But Dodson (16-6) takes all that in stride because, well, the best MMA fighters in the world have that luxury.
A lightning-fast workout warrior with legitimate knockout power in his hands, Dodson is probably one of the most finely tuned competitors in the UFC right now. What’s more, if he can handle Makovsky on Saturday, he’ll be 5-1 as a UFC flyweight, with his only defeat coming to Johnson in an excellent bout back in 2013. That will all make it hard for UFC brass to turn down him down—again—for a title shot.
“I thought I was supposed to get a title shot right now,” Dodson said. “But they said I had to fight one more person.”
The reasoning there is fairly sound, when you think about it. This is Dodson’s first fight in nearly a year, thanks to a torn ACL suffered in his last fight, which Dodson still pulled out via a doctor stoppage TKO against John Moraga. The Jackson-Winkeljohn student spent nine months recovering and doing his best not to rush back.
“It hurt so bad. I knew immediately when it happened. I felt my knee pop,” Dodson recalled. “The only hard part [during rehab] was I didn’t want to leave the gym. Everybody would be like, ‘Why are you still in the gym?’ I live in the gym. I push myself harder than anyone else I know. My teammates just wanted me to sit down and relax and not get too crazy.”
It was apparently also pretty hard to watch the champion do his thing. The flyweight division, with Johnson at its vanguard, has drawn dismal television ratings and pay-per-view numbers. Most recently, the injury-riddled UFC 186 card, headlined by Johnson’s fifth-round submission defeat of KyojiHoriguchi, struggled to break 100,000 pay-per-view buys.
That’s pitiful.
And that’s what Dodson wants to change. He acknowledged some people are just going to enjoy larger people fighting compared to smaller people. But he doesn’t let Johnson off the hook for what he views, in a sense, as a failure of responsibility when it comes to promoting fights.
“Some people just want the big guys, but flyweights aren’t lower class,” Dodson said. “We can be great. Everybody has seasons of champions. Smaller boxers used to be considered as midgets. Now, everyone watches Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.”
His road to Johnson technically begins Saturday with an opponent Dodson knows fairly well. Dodson said he has trained with Makovsky frequently in the past.
“He’s going to have very strong wrestling,” Dodson said. “He’ll try to push forward. He’ll shoot, and I’ll try to bang it out, or I’ll try to take him down.”
That’s the fight, though. His push for the rematch began weeks ago and will never see the inside of a cage.
“I enjoy my job,” Dodson said. “I’m wild and crazy. They say I’m like a little kid…It’s just who I am.”
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, find Scott on Twitter. All quotes obtained firsthand.
Jon Jones used to shine like Leroy Green. The man known as “Bones” was all kinds of magnificent in the cage. We watched him decimate the best fighters in the world in a way few had ever done. He became arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history.