John Dodson, born on September 26, 1984, is an American mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer. He has competed in the flyweight divisions of Rizin Fighting Federation and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). In BKFC, he holds the title of inaugural and current BKFC Flyweight Champion.
Dodson has been a professional mixed martial arts competitor since 2004. He has built his reputation primarily in the Southwest region. Dodson is also recognized as the winner of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller.
Dodson was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He spent his childhood in Albuquerque before relocating to Edgewood, New Mexico, with his family. Dodson is of African American and Filipino descent. He attended Moriarty High School in Moriarty, New Mexico.
While at Moriarty High School, Dodson participated in track and field, football, and amateur wrestling. In wrestling, Dodson achieved significant success, becoming a two-time state champion, one-time state runner-up, and four-time district champion. Dodson graduated from high school in 2003 and subsequently enrolled at the University of New Mexico while working at a local Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant.
Dodson was raised by a single mother, who hails from the Philippines, along with his brother, Eric. In 2002, Dodson began training in MMA after Chris Luttrell and Greg Jackson recruited him because of his extensive wrestling background. Dodson competed in a Grappler's Quest and won at the beginner level. Four months later, he competed in another submission tournament, winning at the intermediate level. Six months later, Dodson competed in his first amateur fight.
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Initially struggling to find fights at flyweight, Dodson took fights at featherweight and bantamweight. Before a fight against future WEC fighter, Clint Godfrey, he held a 3-2 record. He won the fight against Godfrey via decision. Despite having a 1-1 record under the Ultimate Warrior Challenge promotion, he was awarded a shot at the vacant UWC flyweight title at UWC 7.
Dodson was expected to fight at Tachi Palace Fights 9 against Alexis Vila. However, Vila suffered an injury and was forced to withdraw from the bout.
The Ultimate Fighter and UFC Debut
In 2011, Dodson signed with the UFC to compete on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller. In the first episode, Dodson fought Brandon Merkt to gain entry into the Ultimate Fighter house. Dodson was selected as a part of Team Mayhem, becoming the first bantamweight chosen for the team (fourth overall).
In the semi-finals, Dodson was selected to fight Team Mayhem teammate, Johnny Bedford. After a close first round, Dodson won the fight via KO in the first minute of the second round. The win moved Dodson into the finals.
Dodson made his UFC debut on December 3, 2011, at The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale against T.J. Dillashaw to determine the bantamweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 14. Dodson won the fight via TKO in the first round, becoming the first Bantamweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter competition.
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UFC Career and Title Challenges
Dodson faced UFC Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson on January 26, 2013, at UFC on Fox 6, becoming the first Ultimate Fighter alumnus to fight for a title post-season 5.
Dodson faced John Lineker on October 1, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 96. The bout took place at a catchweight of 136.5 lbs as Lineker missed weight.
Dodson faced Tatsuki Saomoto at Rizin 42 on May 6, 2023.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship
Dodson faced Ryan Benoit on August 27, 2022, at BKFC 28: Ferea vs. Starling. Dodson fought Jarod Grant on February 17, 2023, at BKFC: KnuckleMania 3. He won the bout by first-round knockout.
John Dodson's Unstoppable Performance at #Knucklemania3! #bareknucklenews
Achievements and Awards
- Fight of the Night (One time) vs. T.J. Dillashaw
- Knockout of the Night (Two times) vs. Darrell Montague, Nathaniel Wood
- 2013: Ranked #7 Fight of the Year vs. Demetrious Johnson
- Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Demetrious Johnson
- Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Manvel Gamburyan
Fight History
Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC Fight Night: Anderson vs. Błachowicz
- UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis
- UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov
- UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson
- UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans
- UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Khabilov
- UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson - For the UFC Flyweight Championship
- UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot
- UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller
- The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller Finale - Won The Ultimate Fighter 14 Bantamweight tournament
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship
- BKFC 59: Dodson vs. Aguero
- BKFC 48: Dodson vs. Ridge - Retained the BKFC Flyweight Championship
- BKFC: KnuckleMania 3
- BKFC 28: Ferea vs. Starling
John ‘The Magician’ Dodson became the first ever BKFC flyweight champion after a round one TKO over JR Ridge. He made it look easy that night and tends to smoke through his competition with all round one finishes. With lightning speed and absolute explosivity, ‘The Magician’ doesn’t hardly get touched by his opponents in the Squared Circle.
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Dodson got his combat career started on the wrestling mat in high school where he became a two-time state champion, one time state runner-up and four time district champion. After massive high school success, Dodson enrolled at the University of New Mexico and worked at Chuck E. Cheese to help support his single mother. He was spotted by Greg Jackson and recruited into the world of mixed martial arts and the rest is history.
Dodson went on to challenge for two UFC titles and win several bonuses for his outstanding performances. Being a natural 125er, Dodson was a bit ahead of his time and couldn’t find many fights at flyweight early on so he fought bigger guys at 135 and 145. He got onto the Ultimate Fighter in 2011 as a bantamweight under Team Miller in the Bisping vs Miller series. In the series finale, Dodson defeated TJ Dillashaw in round one via TKO. ‘The Magician’ goes on to fight for two flyweight belts against the 125 pound GOAT, Demetrious Johnson and fell just short both times. His final UFC record was 10-7 before leaving the promotion and running the BKFC flyweight division.
He’s defeated the likes of Pedro Muhnoz, Eddie Wineland, Jussier Formiga, Johnny Bedford and much more. John Dodson’s brother Eric, is a contender in the BKFC featherweight division and both brothers have a similar style of blitzing forward with deadly accurate punches in bunches which overwhelm their opponents early on.
Fight Record
| Date | Event | Opponent | Result | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2023 | Rizin 45 | Hiromasa Ougikubo | Loss | Decision (unanimous) |
| May 6, 2023 | Rizin 42 | Tatsuki Saomoto | Win | Decision (unanimous) |
| December 31, 2022 | Rizin 40 | Hideo Tokoro | Win | KO (punches) • Round 1 (1:43) |
| April 2, 2022 | XMMA 4: Black Magic | Francisco Rivera | Win | Decision (unanimous) |
| October 23, 2021 | XMMA 3: Vice City | Cody Gibson | Loss | Decision (unanimous) |
| August 15, 2020 | UFC 252 | Merab Dvalishvili | Loss | Decision (unanimous) |
| February 15, 2020 | UFC Fight Night: Anderson vs. Błachowicz 2 | Nathaniel Wood | Win | TKO (punches) • Round 3 (0:16) |
| February 23, 2019 | UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Santos | Petr Yan | Loss | Decision (unanimous) |
| September 8, 2018 | UFC 228 | Jimmie Rivera | Loss | Decision (unanimous) |
| March 3, 2018 | UFC 222 | Pedro Munhoz | Win | Decision (split) |
| November 11, 2017 | UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis | Marlon Moraes | Loss | Decision (split) |
| April 22, 2017 | UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov | Eddie Wineland | Win | Decision (unanimous) |
| October 1, 2016 | UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson | John Lineker | Loss | Decision (split) |
| April 16, 2016 | UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans | Manvel Gamburyan | Win | TKO (punches) • Round 1 (0:37) |
| September 5, 2015 | UFC 191 | Demetrious Johnson | Loss | Decision (unanimous) |
| May 23, 2015 | UFC 187 | Zach Makovsky | Win | Decision (unanimous) |
| June 7, 2014 | UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Khabilov | John Moraga | Win | TKO (doctor stoppage) • Round 2 (5:00) |
| October 19, 2013 | UFC 166 | Darrell Montague | Win | KO (punch) • Round 1 (4:13) |
| January 26, 2013 | UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson | Demetrious Johnson | Loss | Decision (unanimous) |
| October 5, 2012 | UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot | Jussier Formiga | Win | TKO (punches) • Round 2 (4:35) |
| May 5, 2012 | UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller | Tim Elliott | Win | Decision (unanimous) |
| December 3, 2011 | The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller Finale | T.J. Dillashaw | Win | TKO (punches) • Round 1 (1:54) |
