Dodson says he’ll be ‘David’ to Wineland’s ‘Goliath’ at UFC Fight Night 108

MANILA, Philippines – UFC contender John Dodson had been one of the top fighters in the flyweight division over the past few years. But since moving up to bantamweight, Dodson has split his two first fights in the division.

Dodson, however, promised to climb the ladder of his new division and out-striking fellow knockout specialist Eddie Wineland is the first step. 

“My game plan is to stand and bang. I wanna be able to hit him first before he could hit me,” said the Filipino-American fighter Dodson in an interview with Rappler. “Not only that, I’m making sure that I hit first and hit last. I’m gonna be the first person to hit him and I’ll be the last thing he will ever see.”

Wineland (23-11) – who won his last two fights via technical knockout (TKO) – will have a whopping 4-inch height and 3-inch reach advantage over his opponent Dodson on the undercard of UFC Fight Night 108: Swanson vs. Lobov, come Saturday, April 22 (Sunday Manila time) at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. 

(WATCH: Interview with UFC fighter John Dodson)

Dodson isn’t worried about the size disparity as he’s accustomed to taking on bigger fighters. “I’m used to fighting the bigger opponent so it’s weird for me to fight someone smaller than me,” Dodson said jokingly. “I’m gonna sit there and pretend that I’m David, throwing a pebble and knocking out every one of these Goliaths.”

The 32-year old fighter from Albuquerque, New Mexico expects his superior speed to be the difference maker in his showdown against Wineland. “The main hole that I see in his game plan is that I’m way faster than him. He’s not gonna be able to catch my timing and rhythm,” Dodson claimed. 

Opponents wanted

The Ultimate Fighter 14 winner was not shy about his opinions as he called out bantamweights whom he claimed to have refused to fight him. “I’m tired of everyone who’s willing to sit there and say they’re the baddest man in the planet, yet they don’t wanna fight nobody,” Dodson stated. 

 “I’m talking about Aljamain Sterling, Raphael Assuncao, Bryan Caraway, Jimmie Rivera. They’re all willing to take a title shot yet they can’t even sit there and take the challenge from a guy that’s willing and ready to fight them any second,” he said.

According to Dodson, fighting every top fighter in the division will be his ticket back to the title picture. “I’m willing to fight any single one of these guys,” Dodson declared. “I would go out there and challenge every single fighter until I’m the baddest of the best. I’m the only one who could go ahead and be the champion of this weight class,” he added.

Asked what fight fans can expect from him, Dodson promised, “I will completely do a lot of quick action, and not only that I’ll be putting on that magic. Shake and bake ‘em.” – Rappler.com