John Dodson and Francisco Rivera meet in a bantamweight headliner at XXMA 4 taking place (Saturday, Apr. 2, 2022) in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Round 1
Dodson partially eats a head kick. Dodson with a blitz on Rivera. He follows it up with another one that backs Rivera up to the fence. They start to exchange in the pocket. Rivera connects with a leg kick as they slow things down. Rivera misses with a big overhand right. Dodson shows great head movement and speed. Dodson continues to attack the body and head. Rivera lands a few shots but is mostly missing with Dodson’s head movement. Dodson fails with a takedown attempt. Dodson wobbles Rivera with a number of straight lefts! Dodson lands ground and pound after Rivera goes to the ground. Dodson attempts to take the back but Rivera gets to his feet. Dodson connects with head kicks. He trips Rivera and ends the round on top.
Round 2
Dodson continues to land lefts while avoiding Rivera’s strikes. Rivera seems to have recovered as he marches forward. The action slows down. Dodson resumes connecting with his lefts. Rivera lands a few straight rights. Rivera is having a much better round. However, his momentum stops after an accidental groin kick on Dodson. The action resumes and they start exchanging. Dodson gets Rivera down with a takedown. He transitions to half guard and remains on top for the rest of the round.
Round 3
Rivera lands a left. However, he takes a bad eye poke from Dodson and the action has stopped. Rivera has taken a knee and and there’s a welt on his eye now. Rivera recovers and the fight resumes. Rivera lands a nice right hand. Rivera lands another straight right. Dodson with a knee to the belly. Dodson with a blitz as he lands two lefts on Rivera. They start exchanging in the pocket again. Rivera lands a few more rights. Dodson is getting backed up now as Rivera marches forward. Dodson goes for the single leg but Rivera defends. They clinch up with Rivera against the fence. Dodson lands a knee but Rivera reverses the position. Rivera is tripped by Dodson. Rivera misses a head kick. Dodson is on his bicycle as Rivera looks to finish the fight. Rivera lands some head kicks partially, however, Dodson eats them. Dodson goes for the takedown and gets it. Rivera lands some elbows on the ground before the fight ends.
Official Result: John Dodson defeats Francisco Rivera via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Check out the highlights below:
The Magician gets one back in the win column. John Dodson defeats Francisco Rivera via unanimous decision in the XMMA 4 main event. (29-28 x 3) #XMMA4 pic.twitter.com/KSku6z07HO
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) April 3, 2022
