Happy birthday, John Dodson: The Magician's top 3 UFC performances
Former UFC flyweight title challenger John Dodson turned 32 on Monday, mere days before he faces John Lineker at bantamweight in the main event of UFC Fight Night 96 in Portland, Ore.
Ahead of Dodson's dance with the Brazilian – and in quasi-celebration of his birthday – here are three of the greatest testaments to the jackhammer fists of the 135-pound division's most rambunctious personality:
TJ Dillashaw at 'TUF 14' finale
Over two years before TJ Dillashaw ended Renan Barao's nine-year unbeaten streak to win the bantamweight title, "The Magician" laid a thumping on him in under two minutes of work.
In Dodson's temporary farewell to the 135-pound division, he dropped his fellow "TUF" finalist with a vicious left hand, following the knockdown with a frenetic onslaught for the first-round stoppage. The victory earned a debuting Dodson a Knockout of the Night bonus and anointed him the winner of the 14th "The Ultimate Fighter."
Darrell Montague at UFC 166
After dropping his first of two flyweight title fights against Demetrious Johnson in January 2013, Dodson was in dire need of a head to hunt. He found it in Darrell Montague nine months later.
"The Magician" opened the event's main card with a point to prove, dropping, suplexing, and teeing off on the newcomer against the cage in a span of seconds. The journeyman would valiantly make it back to his feet, only to eat nearly everything Dodson threw his way, finally succumbing to a heat-seeking left hand late in Round 1.
Dodson marked the first of Montague's three UFC tests. He would fail all of them.
Manvel Gamburyan at UFC on FOX 19
Dodson's return to bantamweight came under the same circumstances as his drubbing of Montague: he'd once again been bested by the seemingly invincible "Mighty Mouse." But just like in his first post-Johnson matchup, he made short work of his opponent to get back in the win column.
A 15-year veteran and fellow "TUF" alum, Gamburyan would only provide Dodson with a tough out on paper. The New Mexico native took the center of the cage and quickly cut off to pounce on "The Anvil," unleashing a typhoon of his patented lefts to earn the finish.
Dodson meets Lineker, a winner of five straight fights, Saturday at Moda Center in Portland, Ore.