UFC on Fox 3 victor John Dodson out six to seven weeks with broken hand

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The most exciting fights on the preliminary card for last Saturday's UFC on Fox 3 event were the two flyweight bouts. John Dodson's decision win over Tim Elliott and Luis Gaudinot's second round finish of Tim Lineker were the first flyweight fights in the UFC that aren't a part of the division's inaugural title tournament, and they featured furiously paced action and exciting fights.

Dodson's win, while impressive, came at a cost, however. He suffered a broken hand early in the fight, and though it affected his offense for the rest of the fight, he still managed to pull out the win.

"It happened in the first round," Dodson revealed in an interview with MMAWeekly.com. I re-watched it. It happened at like 2 minutes, 24 seconds into the fight, and I hit him with that overhand left and I tried to double up on it with two punches. I couldn?t make a fist anymore.

?I was trying to make a fist in my glove and it wasn?t working out too well. I even told Greg [Jackson] after the first, 'I think I broke my hand.? He goes, ?punch him with it,? and I was like cool. I was trying to throw it, but it was a very sharp reminder, a very sharp painful reminder not to throw it [once it landed]."

However, while the injury was painful to deal with during the fight, Dodson revealed that it will not keep him out of action for too long.

"I already saw the doctor. They said I?m out for about six or seven weeks and I?ll be good," he said.

Considering Dodson and Gaudinot are the only fighters outside of the tournament with UFC wins in the flyweight division, it'd be reasonable to believe one of them may be in the title picture very soon. For Dodson at least, it won't be something he's campaigning for, and in fact he simply wants to fight regardless of who he's facing.

"I just want to take it however the UFC gives me because I?m not going to sit there and tell people I want a title shot," he said. "I?m not going to sit there and say I want it now."

?I want to fight. That?s the only thing that?s ever mattered to me."

Penick's Analysis: That's good news on his recovery timetable. Injuries, whenever they happen, are unfortunate for fighters, and to be kept out of action for extended periods of times is detrimental to them and their progression. For Dodson, this just means a few extra weeks than he'd like in between fights, and he'll get booked shortly after he's able to return. Whether he's going to campaign for a shot or not, he may only be a fight or two away because of the fact that he won the Ultimate Fighter and that there aren't very many flyweights on the roster right now.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_13243.shtml

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