John Dodson nearly had it. When the whirling dervish of the flyweight division met UFC champion Demetrious Johnson back in Jan. 2013, it quickly became apparent that the fight was his to lose. Dodson captured the opening 10 minutes on two of the judges' scorecards, punctuated by a second round that still stands as the best five-minute frame anybody has pasted on the champion throughout Johnson's reign.
But it wasn't enough. Johnson swept the final three rounds of the fight to narrowly escape with his title intact, leaving Dodson to ponder about what could've been as he worked towards the rematch he is finally set to receive on Sept.