John Dodson (born September 26, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer who competes in the flyweight divisions of Rizin Fighting Federation and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, where in the latter promotion, he is the inaugural and current BKFC Flyweight Champion.
A professional mixed martial arts competitor since 2004, Dodson has made a name for himself fighting mainly in the Southwest region.
[5] Dodson graduated from high school in 2003, and then enrolled at the University of New Mexico while working at a local Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant.
[7] Dodson has daughters named Delilah Skye and Aurora Rose with his wife Chelsea.
[8][9] Dodson began training MMA in 2002 after Chris Luttrell and Greg Jackson recruited him for his extensive wrestling background.
[5] Dodson was offered to make his debut in Japan against the number one ranked flyweight in the world, Yasuhiro Urushitani.
With the win over Godfrey, Dodson was selected to be a part of the second season of the Tapout Reality show.
[12] At UWC 8, Dodson defeated previously unbeaten Jesse Riggleman via unanimous decision.
In the first episode, Dodson fought Brandon Merkt to gain entry into the Ultimate Fighter house.
Dodson defeated John Albert via unanimous decision in the preliminary round and moved onto the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals Dodson was selected to fight Team Mayhem teammate, Johnny Bedford.
The impressive finish also won Dodson an additional $25,000 for the fan voted "Knockout of the Season".
Dodson won the fight via TKO in the first round to become the first Bantamweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter competition.
[18] For his next fight, Dodson moved back down to the flyweight division and was expected to face Darren Uyenoyama on May 5, 2012, at UFC on Fox 3.
[21] Dodson faced promotional newcomer Jussier Formiga on October 5, 2012, at UFC on FX 5.
[29] Dodson was expected to face Scott Jorgensen on December 14, 2013, at UFC on Fox 9, replacing Ian McCall.
[38] Dodson faced Manvel Gamburyan in a bantamweight bout on April 16, 2016, at UFC on Fox 19,[39] He won the fight via TKO in the first round.
[46] Dodson was expected to face Pedro Munhoz at UFC Fight Night 125 on February 3, 2018.
[53] Dodson faced Petr Yan on February 23, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 145.
[55] Dodson faced Nathaniel Wood on February 15, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 167.
[57] On June 16, 2020, news surfaced that with one fight left on his prevailing contract, Dodson re-signed a five-fight deal with the UFC.
[61] Dodson was scheduled to fight his first bout after release on July 30, 2021, at XMMA 2 against Cody Gibson.