Why was John Dodson released from the UFC?

The exact reason for John Dodson’s release from the UFC wasn’t confirmed. Dodson’s UFC release came during a rather tough phase of his career inside the octagon.

At the time of his UFC release, John Dodson had amassed two wins and three losses in his last five fights. Dodson’s final UFC fight was a bantamweight bout against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 252 in August 2020. ‘The Magician’ lost to Dvalishvili via unanimous decision.

It's likely that Dodson's patchy record of 2-3 in his final five outings led to his release. It's also possible that the Dvalishvili fight was the last one on his UFC contract, following which the company didn't offer him a renewed deal.

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John Dodson’s UFC release was a rather surprising development in the MMA world in 2020

In September 2020, the MMA community was set abuzz by the revelation that John Dodson had been released by the UFC. For about a decade, Dodson had been a UFC mainstay. 'The Magician' has always been well-known for his vaunted KO power, durability, well-rounded MMA skill-set, and entertaining persona.

John Dodson won the TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) 14 bantamweight tournament back in 2011. Dodson then dropped down to the flyweight division where he challenged for the UFC flyweight title on two separate occasions.

Dodson’s first title matchup ended with him losing a closely contested fight to then-champion Demetrious Johnson via unanimous decision. This fight took place at UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Dodson in January 2013. His second title shot also came against 'Mighty Mouse'. Akin to the first fight, Dodson once again lost via unanimous decision. This rematch transpired at UFC 191 in September 2015.

'The Magician' returned to the bantamweight division after his second loss to Demetrious Johnson. Dodson spent the rest of his UFC career at bantamweight. His record after the 'Mighty Mouse' rematch stands at four wins and five losses.

John Dodson’s overall professional MMA record stands at 21-12. The 33-fight veteran, who was released from the UFC in September 2020, subsequently indicated that he’d continue his MMA career elsewhere.

In the immediate aftermath of John Dodson’s UFC departure, Dodson’s manager Ricky Kottenstette put forth the following statement:

"We are excited to see what other offers are out there for John. He's 100% committed to his fight career and he's not diminished in his skills set whatsoever. John has fought the absolute best in the world in two weight classes. And he's still more than ready to face elite competition. We look forward to talking to any promotions to find John the best home for his future."

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John Dodson’s first fight after his UFC release has been delayed due to a near-death accident involving him and his family

John Dodson’s first fight since his UFC release was set to take place against Cody Gibson at XMMA 2 on July 30th, 2021. However, it’s now been confirmed that Dodson won’t be making his return to the cage next month.

As revealed by his manager Ricky Kottenstette on Saturday, John Dodson and his family were involved in a near-death accident on a highway while on their way to Texas for a vacation. Thankfully, neither Dodson nor any of his family members sustained any serious injuries. The accident took place on Friday evening, and they were released from the hospital on Saturday morning.

According to Kottenstette and John Dodson, a GoFundMe account has been set up to help the Dodson family through medical and other expenses that have been brought about by the accident. Kottenstette’s GoFundMe statement read as follows:

“We have started this go fund me to help John Dodson and family. The Dodson’s were headed to Texas on vacation to visit family when they were involved in a near death accident with the whole family inside the vehicle. They were all released from the hospital this morning but will have a rough month of recovery and financial hardship ahead. They have totaled their family vehicle and unfortunately John will no longer be able to fight in his upcoming July 30th bout. We are asking for assistance to help them with their medical bills, financial assistance from being out of work and travel back to New Mexico. Let’s show these guys some (love).”

John Dodson’s vehicle was noticeably mangled due to the accident that was reportedly a multi-vehicle pileup. The accident involved at least three other vehicles. Apparently, a car had hit an 18-wheeler. This car didn’t have its hazard lights on after the collision.

As noted in John Dodson’s statement that he posted via Facebook, another vehicle crashed into the pileup, as did Dodson’s vehicle. The impact of this collision caused Dodson’s vehicle to roll multiple times. Dodson emphasized that they were fortunate that the median cables prevented their vehicle from rolling over onto traffic going in the other direction.

John Dodson took to Facebook to post photos and additional details regarding the accident. Fans can read Dodson’s statement, as posted on Facebook, below:

“Just letting everyone know we’re all alive and no one is seriously injured. The car we hit was left in the middle of the highway after that person hit an 18 wheel and another car crashed into it as well. He had no Hazzards light, no flares and no other warning to let us know. I hit the car and we rolled. I don’t know how many times but luckily the cables in the median stopped us from rolling onto traffic going the other direction. The guy fled on foot after he saw my vehicle rolled.. I gotta thank infinite for the design of the suv cuz it protected my family and I from dying. We’re just lucky no one died and we can live to see another day and be reminded on how luck we are. Life is short and you don’t know when it’s gonna end so enjoy it while you can.”

“If you guys wanna help us out there is a gofundme account that one of my friends have created to help us out since I’m outta my fight for July 30th. Thank you everyone for checking up on us and we’re just lucky.”

Sportskeeda wishes John Dodson and his family a safe and speedy recovery.