John ‘The Magician’ Dodson has been released by the UFC and is now looking for a new promotion to call home.
The news is a little surprising given that Dodson has been part of the furniture at flyweight and then bantamweight for nearly a decade and fought many of the biggest names the divisions have to offer.
That being said, his form has been very patchy over the past few years, and though he does hold a TKO victory over Nathaniel Wood earlier this year, the reality is that it has been five years since the 35-year-old last strung together two wins in a row.
Dodson first burst into the UFC in 2011 by winning Ultimate Fighter Season 14 with a first round TKO finish against TJ Dillashaw in the final at 135lbs, then dropped to flyweight where a further two wins would seal a title shot against Demetrious Johnson.
This would be the first of two occasions in which Dodson would fight ‘Mighty Mouse’ for the flyweight strap during his time in the division, but he’d lose by unanimous decision each time, leaving his overall UFC record at 125lbs standing at 6-2.
After that Dodson moved up to bantamweight, where he’s begin a pattern of alternating between wins and losses for the remainder of his UFC run, but he did pick up notable victories over the likes of Pedro Munhoz, Eddie Wineland and Manny Gamburyan, while his defeats were to upper echelon talent like Petr Yan, Marlon Moraes, Jimmie Rivera, John Lineker and most recently Merab Dvalishvili.
According to his manager, Dodson fully intends to continue competing after his UFC release and will likely not be short of offers as one of the most recognizable fighters in the lighter weight classes.
“We are excited to see what other offers are out there for John,” his manager Ricky Kottenstette said. “John is 100 percent committed to his fight career and he’s not diminished in his skill set whatsoever.
“John has fought the absolute best in the world in two weight classes and he’s still more than ready face elite competition. We look forward to talking to any and all promotions to find John the best home for his future.”
