John Dodson wants to knock out TJ Dillashaw again to prove first time was no fluke
UFC bantamweight and former flyweight title challenger John Dodson made quick work of his opponent Manny Gamburyan at UFC on FOX Fight Night on Saturday, and he's hoping the spectacular win sets him up for a shot at the 135-pound belt -- and eventually another fight with Demetrious Johnson.
Dodson, who needed just 47 seconds to end Gamburyan's night, said after the fight that he believes he's done enough to warrant a shot at the winner of the bantamweight title fight between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber.
"I hope this one would have secured it, but I guess not. These people ask me that question as if I didn't do good enough in this fight. Forty seconds isn't good enough, fast enough? I'll make sure the next one is 12." Dodson told media after his win.
The fight at UFC on FOX in Tampa was Dodson's first UFC fight at bantamweight since his "Ultimate Fighter" winning performance of TJ Dillashaw in 2011. Since then, Dodson had fought at flyweight, where he had two unsuccessful shots at Johnson.
But just because Dodson is fighting at bantamweight doesn't mean he's forgotten about those losses.
"(Not winning the flyweight title) does bother me because of the fact that I haven't solved the riddle of what Demetrious Johnson is." Dodson said. "It doesn't bother me as much as it annoys me because Demetrious Johnson is such a good athlete and everybody has a riddle, but I haven't solved it yet.
"That was my game plan in moving up. I'm not going to sit here and be, like, a (expletive) caretaker for all these other 125ers when I'm knocking them out and they're trying to get a different title shot with Demetrious Johnson. I know that he wants that 135 title, and if I can go ahead and secure it, I can secure that third fight between me and him." Dodson said.
Winning that 135-pound title is easier said than done, however.
.@JohnDodsonMMA nice CLEAN left hand??...welcome back to my division
— Dominick Cruz (@TheDomin8r) April 16, 2016
Sitting on the bantamweight division's throne is longtime champion Dominick Cruz, who hasn't lost since 2007. Cruz defeated Johnson and Faber in 2011 when he held the title, then returned in 2016 to take the title back from TJ Dillashaw.
But Dodson thinks he'll fare far better than the others that have competed against Cruz, Johnson specifically, because of one factor -- power.
"We've already seen the fact that Demetrious Johnson gave him so much problems being so much faster than Dominick Cruz is. That's the difference between me and Demetrious Johnson, is that I have power." Dodson said. "I can actually land those shots that DJ landed, but give him more of a threat, hit him harder, but not only that, my hits are way harder than his."
Dodson currently sits at third in the flyweight division, so the win over Gamburyan could put him just one more specular win away from a bantamweight title shot. A rematch with No. 1 contender Dillashaw makes sense to the Team Jackson-Winkeljohn fighter.
"(A rematch with Dillashaw) would be awesome because then that (expletive) could stop saying that it was a fluke that I knocked his (expletive) out." Dodson said. "It bothers me so much because he's so nice to my face then talks (expletive) behind my back ... I'll make sure the next one that I land will knock him out completely."
