When John Dodson won The Ultimate Fighter Season 14 tournament via a first round knockout of T.J. Dillashaw, a star was born. Many who had seen the New Mexico-based Jackson-Winklejohn product before this knew he was on the verge of greatness.
Since then, Dodson has fought primarily as a flyweight, defeating notables like Tim Elliott and John Moraga. He has fought for the Flyweight Championship twice. Unfortunately, his nemesis in Demetrious Johnson has always been a bit much for him to bite off, and helost both of those contests valiantly via unanimous decision losses.
Dodson has returned back to the division that made him famous and he’s already taken out veteran Manny Gamburyan in bantamweight action last April.
His next test in the weight class will be a tough one in Brazilian John Lineker.
Lineker has been on a tear since 2014, walking in with a five-fight winnning streak against notables like Ian McCall, and a Performance of the Night highlight win over Michael McDonald in the first round in July.
Dodson will be like no other opponent, though, and with the energy that both these guys bring, this should be a scrap for the ages.
Co-headlining the event is former Bellator lightweight champion, “Ill” Will Brooks taking on Alex Oliveira. Brooks defeated Ross Pearson in his first UFC outing in July and is looking to establish himself as a true contender.
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Catch UFC Fight Night 96 live from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, live on FS1 on Saturday, October 1st at 11pm EST / 8pm PST.
