John Dodson wants to compete on UFC ‘Fight Night Manila’ card

Nissi Icasiano

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John Dodson wants to compete on UFC ‘Fight Night Manila’ card

Josh Albelda/ABS-CBN

Dodson assisted in delivering the news of UFC's second show in Manila

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-American fighter John Dodson seeks for the opportunity to strut his wares in front of a sold-out crowd with Pinoy fans rallying behind him as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) makes its return to the Philippines on October 15.

Dodson, who is in the country for a 4-day promotional tour, assisted the UFC in delivering the good news when he publicly announced on Thursday, June 23 that the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization will stage its second live event dubbed “Fight Night Manila 2” on Philippine soil.

The 31-year-old native of Albuquerque, New Mexico expressed his interest to be part of the upcoming fight card, which takes place at the 20,000-seater SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

“Not only I do have high hopes, but I also have high aspirations to be on it,” Dodson told Rappler.

Dodson wants to headline UFC Fight Night Manila 2 as he missed the chance to particpate in the promotion’s maiden trip to the archipelago in May 2015.

During that time, he was recovering from a surgery on his torn meniscus as well as his ACL, which had a recovery timetable of 6 to 8 months.

“It always sucks to be sidelined. Going through an ACL injury, it’s more mentally challenging than physical. Physically, I can recover. My body would heal. But mentally, I had to go through not being able to train and watch other people fight,” Dodson recalled.

Dodson had a successful comeback campaign later that year by defeating Zach Makovsky via unanimous decision.

After spending two years at flyweight, Dodson decided to move back to bantamweight and claimed a 47-second knockout triumph over Manny Gamburyan this past April.

Currently occupying the No. 9 spot in the bantamweight rankings, Dodson issued a stern warning to every competitor in the UFC’s 135-pound weight class as he is willing to face anyone to improve his standing in the division.

“Everybody in the roster said no to me. If they can sit there and choose, I want them to hide and line up because I will knock out every single one of them,” the 5-foot-3 Jackson-Wink MMA representative braved.

If Dodson gets the green light to compete at UFC Fight Night Manila, he intends to bring his entire family with him.

“I will make sure to bring my mother and my family. My mom hasn’t been back here for close to over 40 years,” he stated. “I can’t wait to do that in the next trip.” – Rappler.com

 

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