UFC on FOX 6 United Center in Chicago, Illinois Saturday, January 26, 2013 Flyweight Title: Demetrious Johnson (-285) vs. John Dodson (+215) Fight Breakdown: UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson defends his strap for the first time when he takes on former “The Ultimate Fighter” winner John Dodson in what should be a very fast-paced bout and what serves as the five-round headliner of UFC on FOX 6. Johnson (16-2-1) won the first-ever UFC flyweight belt when he outpointed top contender Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152, as Johnson was able to outpoint Benavidez enough over five rounds to sneak out with a split decision. “Mighty Mouse” is the fastest fighter in the UFC and has gone 2-0-1 in three fights since dropping to 125 pounds, creeping into the ‘pound-for-pound’ talks in the process. He’s a very good wrestler, is a good striker, and always brings his all every single time he steps into the cage. Johnson has a ton of experience fighting high-level competition and, at 26 years of age, he’s in the prime of his career. Sure, he’s not much of a finisher and mostly wins by decision, but so what? He wins fights. With renowned coach Matt Hume in his corner and formulating his gameplan, Johnson is going to be hard to beat at flyweight in the UFC. Dodson (14-5) won season fourteen of TUF as a bantamweight, knocking out a bigger man, TJ Dillashaw, in the finale. Since then, Dodson’s dropped down to his naturally more competitive weight of 125 pounds and has looked absolutely fantastic, decisioning Tim Elliott at UFC on FOX 3 and TKOing Jussier Formiga at UFC on FX 5 to earn his title shot against Johnson. Dodson is one of the fastest fighters in the UFC but will he be faster than “Mighty Mouse”? It’s tough to say, but one thing for sure is that Dodson has the power advantage as evidenced by his six career knockouts despite weighing only 125 pounds. If he can connect on Johnson’s chin and put him on the canvass, he can definitely get the stoppage. Though Johnson is fast and should be able to avoid most of Dodson’s punches, it will only take one punch by Dodson to finish him, but in my opinion he has to win the fight in the first two rounds or else he’s going to lose a decision to “Mighty Mouse.” Fight Prediction: Look for Johnson to survive Dodson’s early attack and to use his speed, his footwork and his wrestling to dictate the action and pick up points. Beware that there may be an early knockdown scare but Johnson should still be able to recover. Ultimately, Johnson will do enough to pick up a unanimous decision victory. Adam’s Pick: Johnson via decision (click for latest MMA odds) Adam’s Recommended Play: I really like Johnson to win this fight via decision. I recommend parlaying him with someone else on the card and even consider the Johnson by decision prop.
