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Former UFC Star John Dodson Survives Near Death Experience

Published 07/04/2021, 8:36 AM EDT

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Two-time UFC title challenger John Dodson survived a near-death accident with his family. The fighter was eyeing a return to MMA but now has to wait a little longer.

His manager, Ricky Kottenstette, had informed everyone about the incident on Saturday evening. He also posted a horrifying picture of the aforementioned accident site. The manager also shared other details in the GoFundMe portal.

According to him, Dodson and his family were heading for a vacation in Texas. After the incident, they were admitted to the hospital before being subsequently released on Saturday.

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Dodson later took to Instagram and revealed the current health status of his family. He detailed the accident site and also thanked the car designer for the great escape.

“Just letting everyone know we’re all alive and no one is seriously injured,” Dodson wrote. “The car we hit was left in the middle of the highway after that person hit an 18 wheel and another car crashed into it as well.

“He had no hazard light, no flares and no other warning to let us know. I hit the car and we rolled. I don’t know how many times but luckily the cables in the median stopped us from rolling onto traffic going the other direction.”

He then explained how the guy fled from the scene barefoot after the incident.

He further added, “We’re just lucky no one died and we can live to see another day and be reminded on how lucky we are. Life is short and you don’t know when it’s gonna end, so enjoy it while you can.”

UFC welterweight veteran Tim Means and his wife have donated to Dodson’s fundraiser initiative. As per a report, the couple has lent a helping hand with $1000 as a donation.

John Dodson and his UFC career

Dodson (21-12) will sadly withdraw from his upcoming bantamweight fight on July 30 that would have taken place at an XMMA event in Greenville, S.C. It would have been his return to action after parting ways with UFC in September last year.

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‘The Magician’ started his journey with the promotion back in 2011. He defeated former bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw in The Ultimate Fighter finale. He then went on and picked up another 2 consecutive victories.

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His winning juggernaut ended when ‘The Mighty Mouse’ Demetrious Johnson got the better of him at UFC 191 via unanimous decision.

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He had some memorable close-call matches down the road against the likes of former bantamweight champion Petr Yan and Jimmie Rivera. His last loss against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 252: Miocic vs Cormier 3 ended his stay in the promotion.

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It should come as a relief to his close ones and fans that his family is safe after the ghastly incident. He would look to recover from the tragedy and shock and return to the ring soon.

What did you make of the horrifying incident?

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Written by:

Akshyay Srichandan Mahapatra

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Akshyay Mahapatra is a UFC author for EssentiallySports. He wished to combine his passion for the UFC (that he has been following since 2008) as well as his love for writing. This motivated him to enter the world of combat sports journalism.
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