HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – John Dodson may be at that magical sports (and life) age at which it’s presumed a slow-down happens.
But that doesn’t mean the 40-year-old has to play by the unwritten rule that he should consider his best days behind him. In fact, the former UFC flyweight title challenger, who has been BKFC’s 125-pound champ for nearly two years, thinks he could head back to his old home and take out the current highly dominant champion.
Dodson (24-15 MMA) went 10-7 in the UFC and lost two title shots against Demetrious Johnson. But he told MMA Junkie at BKFC’s champions showcase in South Florida on Thursday that his power would be a problem for flyweight titleholder Alexandre Pantoja.
Pantoja (30-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) in late June submitted Kai Kara-France for his fourth straight title defense. Immediately after, Joshua Van (14-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) was brought into the cage – just moments after his own big win – to be Pantoja’s next challenger.
“I can knock out Pantoja. And that Joshua Van guy, I can guarantee you (I can beat),” Dodson told MMA Junkie. “You want to talk about someone who has incredible knockout power? My Filipino power can beat his Filipino power.”
Van actually is from Myanmar and is Burmese-American, not Filipino. Dodson is half-Filipino. But his point shouldn’t be lost: There’s power he’s finding these days.
That may lend itself to the bareknuckle format. His first three wins in the sport were first-round knockouts. That’s in stark contrast to his MMA fights the past 10 years. Between the UFC, XMMA after he left, and the past 2.5 years in RIZIN, Dodson fights have gone the distance 82 percent of the time.
That explains his thinking that bareknuckle is his preferred combat sports format now.
“I love bareknuckle (the most) because it’s short – it’s a very fast pace. I can go ahead and hunt you down and keep on dropping you every chance I get,” he said.
But would he go back to the UFC if he had the chance? If it meant a possibility to get a crack at the champ, he wouldn’t rule it out.
“That door can always be reopened,” Dodson said. “I’ve just got to go ahead and secure my victories with dominant performances in BKFC, and also go back to Japan and go settle up out there (for RIZIN), too.”
