John Dodson wasn’t the only flyweight pioneer succeeding this month.
Dodson’s successful debut in bareknuckle boxing with an explosive knockout this past Saturday was preceded by former UFC champion Demetrious Johnson’s success a day prior. “Mighty Mouse” returned to action this past weekend, putting away Adriano Moraes with a spectacular flying-knee KO to claim the ONE Championship flyweight title.
Dodson praised Johnson for his big win and went beyond to say he’s the best fighter in MMA history.
“To be honest, I put him above Jon Jones,” Dodson told TMZ in a recent interview. “I know Jon Jones is my teammate and training partner, and I’m not even saying it because he beat me, but Demetrious Johnson is the most well-rounded mixed martial artist the world has seen.
“Like, he’s the only one that I know that’s combined it so well between his wrestling, striking and also his jiu-jitsu. Like he’s been so creative with how to get submissions, how to finish people, and he’s just a very intelligent fighter.”
Both Dodson and Johnson have plenty of history together. During their tenure in the UFC, the two fought a total of 50 minutes in the octagon. They competed twice in championship bouts where Johnson managed to defend his belt both times in very exciting, and at times, very competitive bouts.
Although Dodson is 0-2 against Johnson, he’d welcome a third fight. He could see their rivalry play out like the famed tetralogy between Pride FC legends Wanderlei Silva and Quinton Jackson.
“In the near future, if that window actually does open up for me, I’d definitely jump on it because I’m looking at this as a Wanderlei Silva and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson scenario,” Dodson said. “Wanderlei crushed Rampage two times in a row, and on the third time, (Rampage) had a demolishing finish and let him know (why) he became a champion in another organization. So from Pride FC to UFC, same thing could be from UFC to ONE (Championship).
Dodson would be open to competing in MMA as they have done twice before, or if his foe wanted to try something new, he would welcome that challenge too.
“If Demetrious wanted to do some bareknuckle, he can let me know,” Dodson said. “We can knuckle up any day of the week.”
