Bantamweight Contender John Dodson Nearing New Four-Fight Contract with UFC

It appears that John Dodson will be staying put in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The former two-time flyweight title challenger has verbally agreed to terms on a new four-fight contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion and will be officially signing the deal soon. Sherdog.com confirmed the news with a source close to the fighter on Wednesday following an initial report from MMAFighting.com.

Dodson is targeting an August return to the Octagon. The Jackson-Wink MMA product’s previous contract expired following a split-decision triumph over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 222 on March 3 in Las Vegas.

The 33-year-old known as “The Magician” defeated T.J. Dillashaw to win Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and has compiled a 9-4 record during his promotional tenure. He twice lost five-round verdicts to Demetrious Johnson in flyweight title bids before moving to 135 pounds in 2016. There, Dodson has posted wins over Munhoz, Eddie Wineland and Manny Gamburyan while dropping split verdicts to Marlon Moraes and John Lineker.