LAS VEGAS, Nevada — The UFC’s newest division just got a lot more interesting. The flyweight (125-pound) division, which was unveiled last month in Australia at the UFC on FX 2 event, just added one of the top flyweights in the world in current Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) star Tim Elliott.
Elliott was signed by the UFC to face The Ultimate Fighter 14 bantamweight winner John "The Magician" Dodson on Saturday, May 5th in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The bout will be part of the UFC on FOX 3 card, which will be headlined by a lightweight bout between Nate Diaz and Jim Miller.
Elliott will step in as a late replacement for Darren "BC" Uyenoyama on 2 1/2 weeks notice. While it is unknown why Uyenoyama is unable to compete, Dodson and Uyenoyama were scheduled to make their UFC flyweight debut against each other, after both winning their previous bouts in the UFC at bantamweight.
Elliott just won his debut at flyweight 2 1/2 weeks ago in a featured bout at RFA 2. He won his flyweight debut in impressive fashion by choking out the very experienced Josh Rave early in the first round. After stunning Rave with a spinning heel kick, Elliott put Rave to sleep with a D’Arce Choke in just 28 seconds. The win came on the heels of his brutal flying knee KO win over former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver in December. Elliott’s win over Pulver was contested at bantamweight in the main event of RFA 1.
Dodson vs. Elliott will be the second to last fight featured on the preliminary card of UFC on FOX 3. It will be televised on Fuel TV just ahead of Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Johnson. Dodson is a longtime member of Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, while Elliott is fighting out of Grind House MMA in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
Stylistically, Dodson vs. Elliott should easily be considered a front runner in "Fight of the Night" predictions. Both men have ended fights with explosive finishes and are carrying a lot of momentum into this fight. While Dodson is fresh off his run through The Ultimate Fighter 14 house, Elliott is currently riding an 8-fight win streak.