At last month’s UFC 251, Petr Yan was crowned UFC bantamweight champion.
John Dodson and Yan fought in February 2019, with Yan winning by unanimous decision. In Dodson’s eyes, that could’ve been him winning the promotion’s 135-pound title if things had gone a little bit differently. Instead, Dodson (21-11 MMA, 10-6 UFC) will face Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 252 on Saturday – his second fight since the Yan bout.
“Everybody wants to put all these prospects in front of me, and I will continue to knock them down,” Dodson said at Wednesday’s UFC 252 virtual media day. “I will continue to fight the best fighters in the world to show everybody that I am the greatest of all-time. The only reason Petr Yan beat me is because I was tired, and now he’s got a world title around his waist. That could be me. If I can sit down this dude, I can sit down everybody else.”
Dvalishvili has built a reputation as one of the UFC’s most successful takedown artists. He currently holds the No. 1 and No. 2 slots for single-fight takedowns in UFC bantamweight history. But Dodson isn’t concerned.
“He’s a very dangerous opponent,” Dodson said. “He has set the record for most consecutive takedowns in one fight. But the hardest thing he’s going to do is being able to go ahead and keep me down on the ground or even get me down. We’ve seen my track record. I don’t get taken down that much, and when I do, I hop back up like a little spring. I’m like a little Jack-in-the-box and I pop up, and I’m going to surprise him with some 1-2 combinations that are going to eventually end the fight pretty early for me.
“I will keep the fight standing because Merab’s wrestling doesn’t compare to mine. I do believe that I will knock him out on Saturday night.”
It’ll be “The Machine” (Dvalishvili) vs. “The Magician” (Dodson) on Saturday. And while nicknames don’t play into a fight’s final outcome, Dodson thinks their two monikers are appropriate considering how he sees the fight playing out.
“His nickname is ‘The Machine.’ He’s programmed to only do takedowns,” Dodson said. “So what’s the best aspect of a magician? So I can have the full aspect of creativity to destroy his world with simple commands. I am the greatest fighter that he will ever step into the octagon with because I know his role of being the title championship contender will be replaced by me.”
UFC 252 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
Entering UFC 252, John Dodson motivated by Petr Yan's UFC title win: 'That could be me'
