John Dodson is getting a chance to make history.
The former UFC title challenger has been booked to fight for the inaugural Bare Knuckle FC flyweight belt on Aug. 11 in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He takes on J.R. Ridge in the main event of BKFC 48.
The news was announced by the promotion Thursday afternoon.
Dodson has been simultaneously competing in MMA and bareknuckle boxing since his UFC release in 2020. Under the BKFC banner, he’s gone 2-0 with both wins coming by first-round knockout. He most recently competed in February when he stopped Jarod Grant at KnuckleMania 3.
On the MMA side of things, Dodson has gone 3-1 since his UFC days, notching notable wins over Francisco Rivera and Hideo Tokoro.
At the height of his UFC run, Dodson challenged for the 125-pound belt twice, once in 2013 and the other in 2015, both times coming up short in unanimous decisions against then champion Demetrious Johnson.
This main event bout at BKFC 48 will be the first time Dodson challenges for a championship belt since his UFC rematch against Johnson.
Ridge, who fights out of Tampa, Fla., is 3-1 in the bareknuckle boxing world. The 37-year-old is coming off a decision victory over Chance Wilson at BKFC 32 back in November.
