John Dodson “Still the Most Dangerous Striker in the Flyweight Division”
Jarod Grant and John Dodson test skills in a high-stakes flyweight fight at BKFC KnuckleMania 3 on February 17th.
Dodson appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts to discuss the implications of the winner being close to cementing themselves as BKFC’s inaugural male 125-pound champ, the machinations of this matchup, and more. Excerpts from our chat are below.
John Dodson
This fight possibly being a 125-pound title eliminator and Dodson’s thoughts on possibly becoming the inaugural BKFC flyweight champion
“Man, to tell you the truth I believe I’m already the champion at this weight class. For them to give me a belt, it would solidify it even more. Jarod Grant’s going to be a tough opponent. In the end for me to showcase the fact that I am the next champion, I need to step over the present champion… The present champion or former interim champion of bantamweight. So, what better way to go ahead and showcase my true ability of being a champion against a former champion?”
Dodson’s thoughts on Grant’s stylistic attributes
“The guys that he’s fought, he literally put on a very good showcase against those; I wouldn’t say lesser fighters, but those guys weren’t as experienced as me. They came in, tried to flesh out a game, tried to build a name for this kid. Then he ended up fighting Reggie Barnett who is a very crafty veteran in mixed martial arts and in the bare-knuckle ring and saw the difference. We see the skill levels between what he has and I have. I’m gonna see if I can test out his traditional boxing skills against my unique, wild, rambunctious, explosion of power of MMA striking.”
BKFC KnuckleMania 3
Dodson going ultra instinct in his Rizin debut and being listed at 6’2 on his Rizin NYE graphic
“Absolutely. After I got kicked in the balls, I made sure I went into like finish mode. I was like alright, it’s either going to be ultra instinct or ultra ego. Either one of them just made sure I laid waste to my opponent. Nothing against Hideo (Tokoro). He’s an amazing competitor, he’s a legend of the sport. Only dude to fight from 125 all the way up to heavyweight. I’ve got to give nothing but respect to him, a legend of the game.”
“But in saying that, I am still the most dangerous striker in the flyweight division. Whether it be bare-knuckle, MMA, kickboxing, or even boxing. I am going to show everybody and show the world that I can continue to do that. Surpass everybody with my speed, technicality, and explosivity.”
Rizin
“Bro, they sent me that. They sent me our like side by side and I was like alright cool, whatever. I posted it up and as soon as I posted it up, I re-read it. Because my wife was like babe, they’re lying. I was like what do you mean they’re lying. So, I looked at it because I thought I messed up this time. Because we know I don’t ever really check my grammar on a lot of posts. There’s gonna be like missing words, things spelt wrong. But she sat there, and it said you’re 6’2″. I’m a giant babe. There’s no way in hell that they’re going to sit there and ignore the fact that I’m a giant.”
Dodson continued, “She’s like what do you mean? They automatically assume I’m fighting at flyweight, yes. But I’m American and I’m black, so that has to be true (laughs). In their eyes they’re like he’s a black dude from America, he’s 6’2 (laughs)… Oh no (laughs). It wasn’t deceiving you. They messed up big time by putting me saying I was 6’2. I knew I was only 5’3 but I was blessed with the extra height.”
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