Fil-am fighter Dodson wants to be part of UFC Manila 2 in October

Fil-American fighter John Dodson wants to see action when the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Philippine soil with UFC Fight Night Manila on Oct. 15 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“I want to come back and fight in front of my kababayan,” said Dodson, one of the top bantamweight contenders in the UFC, the world’s premier Mixed Martial Arts organization.

“I’d love to come back,” Dodson told a large group of media on Thursday (Manila) during the first of his three-day visit to the Philippines.

There fightcards for the October event, the second time here of the UFC, has not yet been released and he’s hoping to be included in the card, the same way Mark Munoz, also a Filipino-American, was featured at the UFC Manila Fight night last year at the same arena.

Munoz won his fight and in a dramatic moment, announced his retirement from active fighting. The first Fight Night Manila was headlined by rivals Frankie Edgar and Urijah Faber.

Dodson will have a meet—and-greet event with Filipino fans during an open workout tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) at the Robinsons Place in Manila.
“I want to meet the true fans and show the world that I’m a Filipino. I want them stop asking question over and over again. People, I am Filipino,” added Dodson.

“I tell people that every single time they don’t see it in my skin tone but I wear it in my heart.

Dodson, known for his moniker The Magician, is one of the UFC’s quickest and most explosive bantamweight fighters with a current fight record of 19 wins and 7 losses.

He is the Ultimate Fighter 14 winner following a victory over UFC bantamweight TJ Dillashaw.

Dodson is hosted by Sports 5 and Cignal Tv for a three-day visit to the Philippines where her mother, Esperanza Montemayor, came from. UFC fights are shown live on Cignal TV via Hyper Channel 53 and Hyper HD Channel 130.

Dodson’s mother, Esperanza, was a warrior herself, a trait of a modern Filipina warrior. She played the role of a single parent to Dodson and his brother Eric. “My mom is my biggest inspiration because she is the woman who works hard to get me where I am today.”

“My mom and dad divorced when we were younger. She worked four jobs to make sure we have our roofs over our head and food at our table,” Dodson related.

“IIt’s time for me to repay and work hard for her as well.”

Dodson is very proud of his Filipina mother and he does not hide it. In fact, everything he does on the cage is dedicated to her.

“I make my mom proud every single day because I just don’t sit there and try to hide my heritage but I embraced as if it’s my own.”