John Dodson was more tested in his first fight back since TUF 14 than his entire time on the long time running television show. Dodson faced off with a very unorthodox and talented young kid named Tim Elliott; however Dodson won via decision at UFC on Fox 3.  The victory did not come with ease and Dodson suffered a broken hand in the opening round of his flyweight debut and it hindered him the rest of the fight. Not only was the hand a problem but Elliott (8-3) was as well, Elliott was the aggressor most of the fight and when the decision was read, fans booed in disbelief of the final score cards. Nevertheless, Dodson won the fight but suffered a minor set back in the process.

“It happened in the first round. I re-watched it. It happened at like 2 minutes, 24 seconds into the fight, and I hit him with that overhand left and I tried to double up on it with two punches. I couldn’t make a fist anymore,” Dodson told MMAWeekly Radio following the fight.

Fortunately, Dodson was able to sway the judges and pick up the win, even with a broken hand. During the fight, Dodson mentioned to his trainer Greg Jackson, that he might have broken  it. And in typical Jackson fashion, Dodson was told to push on and gut out the victory.

“I was trying to make a fist in my glove and it wasn’t working out too well. I even told Greg (Jackson) after the first, ‘I think I broke my hand.’ He goes, ‘punch him with it,’ and I was like cool.

Following the hard fought win, Dodson visited a physician and was told he would be shelved for a few weeks.
“They said I’m out for about six or seven weeks and I’ll be good,” Dodson mentioned.

With an undefeated record in the UFC, Dodson’s career is looking very promising, but he’s not ready to go out on the limb of calling people out and screaming for a title shot.

“I just want to take it however the UFC gives me because I’m not going to sit there and tell people I want a title shot. I’m not going to sit there and say I want it now, I want to fight. That’s the only thing that’s ever mattered to me.”

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