U.F.C. on FOX 6: Johnson vs. Dodson – The Rundown

After fight fans were hit with a free dose of Octagon octane last weekend for the FX show in South America, the UFC doubles up delivering another freebie, this time on FOX. Still reeling from last Saturday’s electricity in Brazil, the Octagon heads North as the United Center in Chicago, Illinois hosts “UFC on FOX 6”. That night’s headliner sees flyweight king, Demetrious Johnson make the first defense of his world title against TUF Season 14 winner, John Dodson.

The co-main event features MMA superstar, “Rampage” Jackson taking on dangerous up and comer, Glover Texeria. Also on tap is a lightweight tilt between potential title contenders; Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone. Lastly, a featherweight scrap between Eric Koch and Ricardo Lamas rounds out the main card. With Chicago ready to join in on January’s joy of jabs and jujitsu, here is the rundown on what to watch for this weekend on FOX.

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse”Johnson (16-2-1) vs. John “The Magician” Dodson (15-5) 5-round, UFC Flyweight Championship Title Bout.

In 2012, the organization introduced its smallest weight class with a 4-man tourney to determine the challengers for the inaugural UFC flyweight belt. After the tournament dust settled, two warriors earned their chance at UFC gold; Demetrious Johnson & Joseph Benavidez. The 125ers went to war at UFC 154 where Demetrious upset Joseph via split decision. Benavidez’ name would be added to the list of Johnson’s victims including former WEC 135-pound champ, Miguel Torres, “Kid” Yamamoto and Ian McCall; whom he defeated twice in the tournament. Johnson’s last loss was his 2011 bantamweight title shot against 135-pound ruler, Dominick Cruz by decision, thus the lighter weight class is truly Demetrious’ home.

Anxious to repeat Dominick’s success is TUF Season 14 winner John Dodson, who rides a 5-fight win streak into the cage. During his time on the show he used his active wrestling and heavy hands to defeat his opponents before meeting TJ Dillashaw at the Finale in 2011. Dodson needed just under 2 minutes to get the TKO and be crowned the TUF 14 champion. He then made his UFC debut in May of 2012, earning a decision win followed by a 2nd round TKO of the highly touted Jussier da Silva in October. Can John Dodson cash in on his chance at duplicating the success of other TUF winners who went on to become UFC champions, or does Demetrious Johnson begin his title reign at the expense of his TUF challenger?

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (32-9) vs. Glover Teixeira (19-2) 3-round, Light Heavyweight Co-Main Event Bout

Former UFC 205-pound champion “Rampage” Jackson returns following an almost year-long layoff to spoil the rise of a future light heavyweight star. Last we saw Jackson, he was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision to Ryan Bader at UFC 144. A slight set back seeing as how he has won 10 out of his last 14 matches, now Jackson brings a new motivation to the cage searching for another signature “Rampage” win for his last fight in the Octagon.

Highly proud of his championship accomplishments and massive popularity amongst MMA fans domestic and abroad, the PrideFC legend looks to add to his impressive 21 finishes out of 32 wins in order to properly close the book on a great career. Aiming to avoid his opponent’s highlight reel and simultaneously add the first ex-title holder to his resume, is Glover Teixeira.

The Brazilian carries an impressive 17-fight win streak into the cage with only 1 of those fights going the distance. Equipped with a solid ground game & KO power, Teixeira can easily finish his foe’s either standing or on the ground. When these two collide, a new light heavyweight star will be born or an established one will shine the brightest come Saturday night.

Anthony “Showtime” Pettis (13-2) vs. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (19-4) 3-round, Lightweight Bout.

Another fighter on the card not seen since UFC 144 is former title holder and the last WEC 155-pound champion, Anthony Pettis. That night in Japan he destroyed top lightweight Joe Lauzon in a little over a minute using a perfectly placed head kick before ending the match with some follow-up punches. Prior to that win Pettis took powerful striker, Jeremy Stephens the distance outpointing him in their UFC 136 bout October of 2011.

Pettis has won 6 of of his last 7 fights on his way to finally locking horns with fellow ex-WEC alumni, Donald Cerrone. The Colorado native has secured 8 victories out of his last 9 fights, most recently a 1st round KO of Melvin Guillard at UFC 150. Another one of the much anticipated stars to make the transition from the WEC stage to the UFC limelight, Cerrone made the world take notice as he strung together a 4-fight win streak for his debut year in 2011.

Both combatants carved a different road towards the UFC lightweight title but their explosive striking, dazzling finishes and exciting styles have ultimately led to their paths crossing as they have each set out on the same goal of obtaining UFC gold. An intriguing match like this one is totally worth the 4 year wait but, the icing on the cake is that it now has title shot implications.

Taking full advantage of the pre-Superbowl energy, the MMA madness and melee grabs center stage on the FOX Network quenching the thirsts of both UFC fans and those television viewers flipping channels this weekend looking for some hard-hitting action.

The event is the first FOX card of the year and what a way to do so showcasing a UFC Championship title bout, the farewell fight of an MMA icon and two talented lightweights that may very well be fighting for the UFC 155-pound belt later this year. Its all live and free on network television as the UFC brings it with “UFC on FOX 6” from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.