In the UFC Fight Night 96 main event two of the divisions top flyweights bantamweights will do battle, as John Linker squares off with one of the fastest strikers in the division, John Dodson.
Both combatants were seated near the top of the 125-pound division, however weight issues forced Lineker up to 135-pounds. The decision wasn’t so much by choice, but forced upon by the UFC brass. After losing to Demetrious Johnson for the UFC flyweight title at UFC 191 in late 2015, Dodson decided to make the return up to 135 as well.
Lineker (28-7) is currently riding a five-fight winning streak and is 3-0 since making the move up to bantamweight. “Hands of Stone” feels that he has the speed of a flyweight and still carries heavy hands, in fact he believes he is the hardest hitter in the division.
Heading into a fight, most would like to build up some hatred and anger towards their opponent — Lineker is quite the opposite. In fact, he actually likes Dodson.
“I am a fan of John Dodson!” Lineker said in a UFC press release. “I will try not to hurt him too bad.”
In Dodson’s (18-7) last five outings, he has gone 4-1, with the lone set-back to Johnson as mentioned above. Upon his return to bantamweight, “The Magician” showed that he still owns the knockout power, by finishing Manny Gamburyan in just 37-seconds.
Unlike Lineker, Dodson didn’t have the same nice things to say about his opponent on the other side of the cage.
“The fight against Lineker is going to be one-sided, me moving around and hitting him a lot and Lineker is going to be swinging and missing,” Dodson states. “Poor dude. I’m going to knock him out, hopefully in the first round. If it goes any longer than that, he’s going to get really tired and it’s going to be a really boring fight.”
With both corners of the Octagon having such knockout power, this bout proves to be an extremely exciting one for the fans.
You can catch all the action from UFC Fight Night 96 live on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET.
