Petr Yan looked great at UFC Prague, establishing pressure against John Dodson and not letting up for 15 minutes.
Petr Yan is one of the top prospects in the UFC bantamweight division. He came over to the states after going 6-1 in ACB/ACA, capping his run off as their bantamweight champion. Yan is 3-0 in the Octagon since joining the promotion in June of last year. After knocking out Teruto Ishihara in his debut, Yan earned a Fight of the Night victory over Jin Soo Son, then knocked out Douglas Silva de Andrade at UFC 232.
John Dodson is looking for some consistency at bantamweight after moving up from 125 pounds in 2016. Since then, the TUF 14 winner is 3-3, losing controversial split decisions to Marlon Moraes and John Lineker in the process. “The Magician” is looking to bounce back from a loss to Jimmie Rivera in September. He was incredibly successful at flyweight, going 5-2 with the only losses coming against dominant champion Demetrious Johnson.
John Dodson rushed at Petr Yan early on with a flurry of punches without connecting cleanly. Yan was sent off balance though. Dodson came in with a body shot, then a combination of body punches. Dodson caught a kick and landed a takedown. As Yan was trying to push off, Dodson complained that Yan’s foot was pushing below the belt. The referee did not punish Yan and the fight got back to the feet. Yan landed a heavy right-hand followed by two more. Dodson caught another kick but couldn’t secure a takedown this time. Yan landed another big right hand that sent Dodson bouncing off the fence. and an exchange capped off the first round.
Yan landed a body jab through a flurry from Dodson to start the second round. Dodson blitzed forward with another combination, then ducked under a Yan right hand to shoot for a takedown. Yan stuffed the takedown then landed another hard right hand. A left hand staggered Dodson, but he was able to stay on his feet. Yan landed another powerful right, but Dodson bounced off the fence with a punch and knocked Yan down. Dodson pounced, but Yan used a butterfly sweep to slow the pursuit and get back to the feet. A combination for Yan landed along the fence. Yan followed up with a flurry along the fence and kept the pressure on Dodson to close out the round.
The quick combinations started immediately in the third round. Dodson was focused on landing a left hand, and there was a brief grappling exchange that did not result in much. Yan kept Dodson along the fence with his right hands. There was a clinch exchange that Dodson had a complaint about to the referee, which was a theme in this contest. After the complaint, Yan nailed Dodson with a knee in the clinch and the pressure was simply too much for Dodson for the remainder of the round.
Petr Yan def. John Dodson by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)
