UFC Fight Night 42 was host to a ton of exciting contests Saturday night in Albuquerque, New Mexico, including a flyweight bout between John Moraga and John Dodson. It was a fight that many predicted to take home Fight of the Night honors.
In a rematch of a fight from their pre-UFC days, Dodson was able to connect on one big fury that put Moraga in a trance. In the process of throwing a head kick, Dodson busted up Moraga's nose with a knee that caused the fight to be stopped in between the second and third rounds. It was a shocking end to a lightning-filled fight.
Here is what we learned from this thrilling affair.
Moraga rematch a perfect example of how boom-bust Dodson is. Nine minutes of nothing, one minute of bloodthirsty, anarchic violence.
— Jordan Breen (@jordanbreen) June 8, 2014
What We'll Remember About This Fight
Dodson's kick-knee thing. Up until Dodson nailed Moraga with his knee on the head kick attempt, it was a pretty spotty fight where Dodson would occasionally blitz and score points.
The strike busted up Moraga's nose, which caused him to immediately grasp his nose. He was leaking like a faucet, which was a factor in the doctor recommending the fight get stopped.
What We Learned About Moraga
We didn't learn a whole lot about Moraga in this fight. The big lesson was that Moraga is much better than he showed.
Moraga has shown in the past that he is one of the best in the world at 125 pounds. That said, Dodson can make any fighter look bad. We will learn a lot more about Moraga down the road when we see him again.
What We Learned About Dodson
News flash: Dodson is quick. We learned that even when it looks like Dodson isn't at the top of his game, he can come out of nowhere and strike a kill shot.
Dodson has immense power for a 125-pounder. In fact, he hits like a 185-pounder. He is easily the second-best 125-pounder in the UFC behind the current UFC champ.
What's Next for Moraga?
For Moraga, he needs to rebound from this devastating loss. Perhaps a meeting against the loser of Jussier da Silva-Zach Makovsky is what the doctor ordered. It would be against a fellow top-10 fighter coming off a loss.
What's Next for Dodson?
He has to be in line for a title shot next. Whether it's Demetrious Johnson or Ali Bagautinov, Dodson should be next in line.
