John Dodson Reveals Why His Fight with Pedro Munhoz Was Cancelled
John Dodson wanted nothing more than to fight in Brazil on Saturday night but he won’t get that opportunity after his opponent Pedro Munhoz failed to make weight for their bantamweight showdown.
Munhoz came in at 140 pounds — four pounds over the bantamweight limit for a non-title fight — and ultimately the fight was scrapped.
Dodson explained after the situation unfolded what he was told about Munhoz’s weight and why decided not to accept the matchup at a catch weight instead.
“He came in five pounds over weight,” Dodson said on Friday from Brazil. “Originally, they told me he was three pounds [over] and I gave him the benefit of the doubt and said oh he’s 139? They said he’s more like 140 point something. I’m guessing he’s in the ballpark figure around 141. He’s not bantamweight now, he’s a featherweight first. Second, I made all the sacrifices and did my job to make weight and chose not to.
“I did that with [John] Lineker. Lineker came in over weight and I was being a good company man, I’m just going to go ahead and fight him, do what I have to do, and just be excited about being the main event. Lineker came over heavy, I clear out struck the man but I came away with a loss and I got screwed so I wasn’t rolling the dice on that for a second time.”
According to his manager Ricky Kottenstette, this is also the final fight on Dodson’s current deal with the UFC so with free agency looming, the outcome of this bout could absolutely affect his next contract.
The risk just outweighed the reward in this instance after Munhoz came in so far over weight for the fight on Saturday night. Needless to say it broke Dodson’s heart that the fight wasn’t going to happen, especially after he put in the hard work to ensure a victory on Saturday night.
“I’m so sorry this fight isn’t going to happen,” Dodson said. “Hopefully we can get this rebooked so that he can actually make the 136 [pound] limit and we can actually duke it out for you guys sometimes down the road. My apologies to every single one of you. I know it seems like a hard thing to swallow, but I’m deeply and truly sorry that you don’t get to see me perform and I’m heartbroken myself that I don’t get to go ahead and do what I love.”
Dodson’s manager said there have been preliminary talks to rebook the matchup for UFC 222 in Las Vegas on March 3 but it’s premature to say if that will actually happen or not.
As far as Dodson being paid for this fight, that remains up in the air as the UFC is not obligated to pay him since the bout isn’t happening but his manager believes the promotion will do right by him in the end.
“Contractually, the UFC doesn’t have to give us the show money but we’re confident they’ll do the right thing,” Kottenstette said.
As far as what comes next for Dodson, he just wants to fight as soon as possible but whether or not that comes against Munhoz remains to be seen.
“I’d definitely try to fight a lot sooner than later,” Dodson said. “Doing all this struggle, making the weight and all the preparation for this fight, I just want to go fight. I did my part. I feel bad for the fans, but honestly I came out and did my job.”
