The
Ultimate Fighting Championship has cut ties to “The Ultimate
Fighter” Season 14 winner and two-time flyweight title challenger
John
Dodson. MMAFighting.com was first to report his release from
the organization.
Dodson debuted in the UFC in 2011 and compiled a 10-6 record with
the promotion during what was something of an uneven tenure marked
be exhilarating highs and disappointing lows. The
Jackson-Wink MMA mainstay twice fought for the flyweight crown,
losing five-round decisions to an all-time great in Demetrious
Johnson at UFC on Fox 6 and UFC 191. Dodson returned to the
bantamweight division in April 2016 but lost five times in nine
appearances at 135 pounds, never again regaining his
championship-level footing. He last competed at UFC 252, where he
wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous verdict against Merab
Dvalishvili on Aug. 15.
Now 35, Dodson will carry a well-established reputation as one of
MMA’s most durable fighters to his next destination. He has never
been finished in his 33-fight career.