Dodson vs Saomoto

Who won Dodson vs Saomoto?

John Dodson beat Tatsuki Saomoto by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the main card of RIZIN 42, on Saturday 6th May 2023 at Tokyo Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner John Dodson.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Dodson vs Saomoto division, which meant the weight limit was pounds (0 stone or 0 KG).

Dodson vs Saomoto stats

John Dodson stepped into the octagon with a record of 23 wins, 13 losses and 0 draws, 11 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 2 by submission.

Tatsuki Saomoto made his way to the cage with a record of 18 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by knock out and 2 by submission.

This was John Dodson's 3rd fight in Rizin, having made his debut for the promotion in 2022.

John Dodson's Rizin record stood at 2-1-0, while Tatsuki Saomoto's came in at 4-1-0.

The stats suggested Dodson had a massive power advantage over Saomoto, boasting a 48% knock out percentage over Saomoto's 17%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Saomoto had a slight advantage over Dodson, with a 11% submission rate over Dodson's 9%.

John Dodson was the older man by 12 years, at 40 years old.

Dodson was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 16 more fights, and made his debut in 2004, 10 years and 10 months earlier than Saomoto, whose first professional fight was in 2015. He had fought 54 more professional rounds, 98 to Saomoto's 44.

Dodson vs Saomoto form

Dodson had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Hideo Tokoro at RIZIN 40 on 31st December 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Previous to that, he had lost to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 252 on 15th August 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Petr Yan at UFC on ESPN+ 3 on 23rd February 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic.

Before that, he had been defeated by Jimmie Rivera at UFC 228 on 8th September 2018 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at American Airlines Center, Dallas, United States.

He had beaten Eddie Wineland at UFC Fight Night 108 on 22nd April 2017 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville.

Activity check

Dodson's last 5 fights had come over a period of 7 years, 11 months and 8 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 7 months and 2 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

Saomoto's last 4 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 7 months and 20 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 1 month and 27 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 10 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.5 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Dodson vs Saomoto?

John Dodson was a 8/13 (-160) favourite going into the contest, while Tatsuki Saomoto made his way into the ring at 5/4 (+130) with oddsmakers.