John Dodson’s bareknuckle couldn’t have gone much better.
Following in his younger brother’s footsteps, who won by knockout in his debut earlier at the event, the former UFC title challenger Dodson stopped his opponent without much resistance in the co-main event of BKFC 28.
The fight took place at Rio Rancho Events Center in Albuquerque, N.M.
The speed of Dodson was too much for Benoit to handle, as he hit the canvas early from a lightning-fast blitz. He returned to his feet, but was sent back down a few seconds later. Benoit got up one more time, but Dodson didn’t give him much time to recover as he put him down a third and final time for the stoppage victory just 40 seconds into the first round.
Check out video of the finish below (via Instagram):
Both UFC veterans were fighting in bareknuckle competition for the first time.
Dodson, 37, entered Saturday’s contest on the heels of a unanimous decision win over Francisco Rivera Jr. at XMMA 4, in what was his second bout after his 17-fight UFC run concluded.
Benoit, 33, exited the UFC in July 2021 following a three-fight skid. During his nine-fight run with the promotion, Benoit picked up a pair of stoppage wins, including a finish of current Bellator bantamweight champ Sergio Pettis at UFC 185.
Official results of BKFC 28 include:
- John Dodson def. Ryan Benoit via knockout – Round 1, 0:40
- Brad Kelly def. Isaac Vallie-Flagg via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-44)
- Jeremy Smith def. Donald Sanchez via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
- Will Santiago def. Jake Young via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 1, 2:00
- Eric Dodson def. Nick Villar via knockout – Round 1, 0:23
- Tony Soto def. Joshua Morales via TKO – Round 3, 1:49
- Joshua Moreno def. Zion Tomlinson via KO – Round 2, 1:00
- Josh Watson def. Kyle McElroy via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:24
- Jayme Hinshaw def. Cassie Robb via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:18
- Jeremy Sauceda def. Roderick Stewart via knockout – Round 2, 1:38
