John Lineker v John Dodson: What just happened.

Our main event of UFC Fight Night 96 seen a Bantamweight showdown between John 'Hands of Stone' Lineker and John ' The Magician' Dodson. Both men are capable of stopping anybody in the 135lbs division with their earth shaking power and speed. The opening round began with the favourite John Dodson opening up with a leg kick. Lineker landed a good body shot himself in the opening minute. It wa as very tentative opening couple of minutes from the pair as they both respected each others knockout power and speed. Dodson really demonstrated his power when he landed a lightning fast counter. Dodson landed an incredible head kick which landed flush on the jaw of an unfazed John Lineker. Dodson caught a leg and took down Lineker but elected to let him backup as the first round concluded. The second round began with Lineker looking to land a series of front kicks before closing the distance and landing a good body shot. Lineker landed a good knee to the body before Dodson's straight left connected beautifully to a composed Lineker. Both men stood in the centre of the octagon a called upon each other to press forward and fight before John McCarthy set the fight off again, with Lineker landed a good body head combination against the fence. A knee caught Lineker in the groin which stopped the fight for a minute or so. Dodson closed the distance as he landed some eye catching combos as the round came to an end. The third round started with a good combination from Dodson using his kicks effectively. Both men began to tee off on each other from close range with Lineker swinging for the fences as Dodson moved away. Dodson was moving in and Lineker was tagging him from the pocket, giving the former Flyweight title contender something to think about. Lineker was executing his standard gameplay to a tee, backing Dodson up before lettig his hands go from the pocket. Dodson again threw a head kick which seemed to have effect on the experienced Lineker. Dodson got cracked by a good Lineker hook which forced him to search for a takedown as the round ended. The fourth of five scheduled rounds began with a Dodson body kick. Dodson showed everyone his own 'chin' as he moved through 2-3 big hooks from the Brazilian. Lineker was then double legged by Dodson who gave the hard hitter something else to worry about. Both men really exploded into action in a Thai clinch with Dodson landing knees before Lineker caught him with some hooks on the exit to wobble Dodson. Lineker began to tee of with just over a minute left in the fourth hurting his name sake with a body shot. Dodson then connected with a solid front kick to the body. The fifth and final round began with a 'superman' punch from Dodson before a good hook from the former #10 ranked Bantamweight. Dodson again went height with a left high kick which landed flush. With over a minute and half to go, Lineker again pushed forward and landed some great hooks from the pocket. A great left hand from Dodson wobbled Lineker with a minute to go in this memorable battle. Dodson burst onto a double leg before taking Lineker's back and the Brazil native stood to his feet and carried him to the fence. With seconds left, Dodson again landed a powerful head kick as they go the distance in our main event. The judges handed a split decision victory to John Lineker with a title fight between him and the expected winner of Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt surely on the horizon, with Lineker telling how he "deserves" Cruz.

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