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John Dodson is too small for the bantamweight division. At 5'3" he really ought to be a flyweight. Fortunately, Dodson's also too fast and too powerful. At least he was too much for T.J. Dillashaw, beating and battering the bigger and slower man with a dramatic and dazzling series of strikes.
Dodson is called "The Magician" by fans of his acrobatic ability to appear and disappear from any place in the cage in less than the blink of an eye. But there was no hocus pocus in the left forearm he smashed upside Dillashaw's head to crumble him to the ground.
Dodson trains at the storied Greg Jackson Gym in New Mexico with UFC stars Georges St. Pierre, Jon Jones, Diego Sanchez, and many more. Dillashaw trains with Urijah Faber at Team Alpha Male in California. Expect Dillashaw to be back as he remains a promising talent.
Dodson's post-fight celebration was more typical of his gymnastic style as he did multiple running leap backflips off the cage, ending with a dramatic tumble. Dodson has long been considered the uncrowned king of MMA's flyweight division, but for now he's the first bantamweight Ultimate Fighter, taking home the vaunted "six figure contract" and becoming part of the UFC.