UFC 191: Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson – A Closer Look

Clever sayings and countless catchphrases catapult from fight to fight whenever a championship battle looms on the horizon.  An old adage that floats its way throughout numerous MMA gyms or lingers inside boxing locker rooms goes: to be the man, you gotta beat the man.  If there was ever any case for just who exactly is currently, “the man” in MMA it would be the UFC’s unstoppable flyweight titleholder, Demetrious Johnson. During his ascension to the top of the 125-pound division he has constantly improved marching past adversary after adversary.  However, there is one man out there that when they first met for the title, gave Johnson everything that he could handle, John Dodson. Now while the champ remained the belt holder following their 25-minute war some pundits still raised an eyebrow as to who the clear cut winner was that night. Luckily for us, they will settle the score once and for all this Saturday as the UFC 191 headliner from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Here is a closer look as to what to expect when these rivals enter the cage for their highly anticipated rematch on Labor Day weekend.

UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson (22-2-1) is undefeated since moving from his original weight of 135lbs down to flyweight. Ironically, his lone losses both by unanimous decision happened at bantamweight; the first during his run in the WEC to Brad Pickett in 2010 and to then UFC 135lbs champion, Dominick Cruz, in 2011. As of the flyweight division’s introduction to the UFC in 2012 “Mighty Mouse” has become the man to beat. After headlining and winning a UFC on FX card to determine the title eliminator, he locked horns with 3-1 favorite Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152 that fall. Johnson took a split decision that night being crowned the newly minted flyweight title holder. The Washington native would go on to successfully defend the strap 6 times. The first 3 in 2013 came against John Dodson whom he beat via unanimous decision, then John Moraga by 5^th round armbar submission that summer and finally, just two weeks before Christmas, a sensational 1^st round KO of Joseph Benavidez at (2:08) of their rematch. In June of 2014 Johnson cruised to a unanimous decision over Ali Bagautinov at UFC 174 then that fall he headlined his first show in Las Vegas by overwhelming Chris Cariaso at UFC 178 via 2^nd round Kimura submission. The most recent defense for “Mighty Mouse” materialized at UFC 186 where Johnson submitted grappling ace, Kyoji Horiguchi. The fabulous armbar submission happened at (4:59) of the 5^th and final round, an Octagon record for the latest finish in a UFC title fight.

The upcoming and 7^th title defense for Johnson will be only the second time in his entire career that he has a rematch.

UFC #1 contender John “The Magician” Dodson (18-6) has never been disqualified, knocked out or submitted in his entire pro career. Every defeat on his ledger stems from a points verdict and his only loss inside the Octagon is to the current champion of the division. Fans first learned about the 30-year old thanks to his successful 2011 run on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller. The season 14 cast member scratched and clawed his way to the finale becoming the show’s first ever 135-pound winner by crushing current UFC 135lbs title holder, TJ Dillashaw, via 1^st round KO in less than 2 minutes.  Dodson picked up two solid victories the following year; first defeating tough as nails Tim Elliot then stopping BJJ wizard Jussier da Silva via TKO at (4:35) of the 2^nd round. For his next trick “The Magician” tangled with Johnson, giving the champ all that he could handle January of 2013 for 5 rounds. Not once had Johnson been visibly stunned in the past but that night in Chicago the challenger’s powerful left hook was the game changer as it landed multiple times making it a seesaw battle. Thanks to Johnson’s footwork and unbelievable cardio he kept his composure on his way to handing Dodson his first championship fight loss however; fans knew it was inevitable for them to one day meet again down the road. The New Mexican rallied back that fall at UFC 166 dismantling Darrell Montague via 1-punch KO at (4:13) of the 1^st round. In 2014 the Jackson-Wink MMA representative stopped John Moraga inside of 2 rounds. His most recent bout took place at UFC 187 earlier this year as he dispatched of Zach Makovsky’s relentless wrestling attack via unanimous decision.

Going into this match fans have to wonder just how much has each man changed since their first meeting almost 3 years ago?

For John Dodson, he has been partially inactive due to getting hurt. The gap of inactivity between matches during 2013 and 2014 happened due to knee injury. He also became a father for the first time in his life just a few days ago. So, now that everything seems to be on track can he correctly put the pieces of the puzzle together behind his emotional growth combined with the time spent away from the cage? It’s a tall order against someone the caliber of his opponent.  If “The Magician” can’t get his combinations going or find openings via takedowns it seems like his explosive offense disappears becoming predictably repetitive as of late. There doesn’t seem to be much of a Plan B, just a bunch of Plan A’s being repeated to exhaustion.

On the other hand, Demetrious Johnson has clearly grown by leaps and bounds; he out wrestles solid wrestlers, out grapples great grapplers and out strikes powerful strikers. He is the total package and just when you thought this machine of destruction had been finalized, he has recently perfected planting his feet and putting serious heat on his punches or swimming across the murky Octagon floor drowning his prey thanks to watery slick submissions. Labor Day weekend 2015 will be the backdrop for one of two things; a massive upset crowning the latest TUF competitor as champion defying the odds or one of the future all-time greats going to work making his stellar superiority and dominance look easy.  This is what fans can look forward to as UFC flyweight king Demetrious Johnson defends his belt against #1 contender, John Dodson as the UFC 191 main event from the MGM Grand Garden Arena inside the MGM Grand casino  in Las Vegas.

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By: arm romo