As kingpin of the UFC flyweight division, Demetrious Johnson showed once again that he is the best in the world at 125 lbs. by beating Ali Bagautinov. But his next bout is probably another rematch of a former title contender.
According to Dana white at the UFC 174 post-fight press conference, John Dodson is most likely the next person to fight Johnson. Johnson fought Dodson in 2013 and won by unanimous decision. Many believe that Dodson was the stiffest test that Johnson has fought at 125. Dodson felt as if he landed many more significant strikes in that fight and inflicted the most damage. “I rocked him and he didn’t even wobble me,” exclaimed Dodson in a post-fight interview.
This is not the first time that “Mighty Mouse” has had a title rematch. Joseph Benevidez also fought Johnson for the title and completely annihilated the competition outside of Johnson and this is very similar to what Dodson has done in the division. Many consider the UFC flyweight division “top-heavy” and dry of challengers for Mighty Mouse.
Former bantamweight contenders Brad Pickett and Scott Jorgensen have dropped down to 125 and hope to face Johnson one day, and Zach Makovsky has shown a lot of potential in that division as a new-comer. The UFC flyweight division definitely is not as competitive as the lightweight division or the welterweight division. Being the newest men’s division in the UFC, it may take time to develop and grow to compete with the more popular and heavier divisions in the UFC.
To the casual MMA fan, the lower weight divisions are not known for brutal punching power and knockouts, but fighters like John Dodson want to silence the critics. Dodson has proven this by winning 4 out of 5 of his UFC bouts by TKO or KO. Mighty Mouse also proved his power by knocking Benevidez out with one punch. An exciting element to the flyweights is their speed and their ability to conserve energy for later rounds.
Even though the flyweights are not usually the common names that you hear in the UFC, they want the fights to speak for themselves and hopefully one day be amongst the most popular divisions in the UFC. Hopefully Johnson and Dodson sign on the dotted line soon as they have shown to be some of the fastest and most exciting fighters out there.
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