Nine years ago, on December 3, 2011, John Dodson scored one of the biggest wins of his career. He knocked out T.J. Dillashaw in the first round of the tournament finale. To go with his TUF 14 crown, Dodson was also awarded a $40,000 bonus for knockout of the night. It was the start of a long and mildly successful UFC career for Dodson.
John Dodson Wins TUF 14
While Dodson was the victor of the TUF 14 bantamweight tournament, Diego Brandao was the winner of the featherweight tournament of the same season. Brandao defeated Dennis Bermudez in the first round of their fight, winning $40,000 for the submission of the night. In the main event of the card, the season’s coaches Michael Bisping and Jason Miller squared off, with Bisping winning via third-round TKO.
Following the TUF 14 championship, John Dodson made the move to the UFC’s newly-formed flyweight division. He spent the next 2.5 years of his career in the division, amassing a record of 5-2. His only two losses as a UFC flyweight came to Demetrious Johnson in championship bouts. Dodson beat most of the other contenders, including Tim Elliott, Zach Makovsky, and Jussier Formiga. After his second unsuccessful title shot against Johnson, Dodson made the move back to bantamweight. He went 4-5 in his next nine fights at 135 before being released from the promotion.
Different Destiny for Dillashaw
Despite losing in the TUF finale, T.J. Dillashaw wound up having a much more successful UFC career than Dodson. He rattled off four successful wins before dropping a split decision to top contender Raphael Assuncao. Two fights later, Dillashaw scored one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, finishing long-time champion Renan Barao to become UFC bantamweight champion. After two successful defenses, one a rematch with Barao, Dillashaw dropped a very close split decision to Dominick Cruz. Almost two years later, Dillashaw won the belt back from Cody Garbrandt. After successfully defending the belt in a rematch with Garbrandt, Dillashaw lost a flyweight championship fight and was suspended for PEDs. He is slated to return to action next month.
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