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A bantamweight bout between John Dodson and Pedro Munhoz has been added to UFC Fight Night 125 on February 3rd, 2018 at the Arena Guilherme Paraense in Belem, Brazil.
Dodson enters this fight with a 20-9 record with half of his wins by knockout. Dodson fought for the UFC flyweight belt twice but on both occasions, he got beaten soundly by Demetrious Johnson.
Opposite Fortunes
Following the second loss to Mighty Mouse, Dodson returned to bantamweight but he hasn’t been as successful there either. Dodson has alternated wins and losses since his return to 135 pounds. In his most recent bout, Dodson dropped a split decision loss to Marlon Moraes.
While Dodson has been struggling as of late, Munhoz has been on a roll. Since losing to Jimmie Rivera by split decision at UFC Fight Night 77 in 2015, he’s won four fights in a row. Three wins have come via guillotine submission and all three submission wins have earned him Performance of the Night honors.
Despite their recent fortunes, Dodson is still ranked higher than Munhoz in the UFC’s bantamweight ladder. The Magician currently sits at #8 in the division while Munhoz is still at #10. However, a win here by the Brazilian could change his fortunes.
Prediction
This is a battle of styles because Dodson has knockout power while Munhoz is the submission expert. Given that, something has to give here and if we were to pick a winner, we’re going with Munhoz who is on a winning streak. Given his current form, Munhoz can and will take this fight to the ground where he will have the clear advantage over Dodson.
Munhoz is also 6-1 when fighting in his backyard so that’s going to play some part too. While Dodson has knockout power, he has not scored a knockout since halting John Moraga in 2014. Dodson has also just won twice in his last two bout and while he’s never lost two in a row in his career, this could be the first time.
Munhoz is going to drag this fight to the ground and he’s going to punish Dodson there. If he’s not going to get the submission, Munhoz is going to grind out a solid win here. We’re picking Pedro Munhoz to beat John Dodson.
