Report: John Dodson likely out for a year following ACL surgery to repair blown knee

On the cusp of another Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) flyweight title fight against division kingpin Demetrious Johnson, John Dodson will now find himself on the sidelines for up to a year on the heels of a very unfortunate setback.

"The Magician" told FOX Sports that he recently had to undergo ACL surgery to repair a blown knee, as well as a torn meniscus.

A reoccurring problem that was aggravated during his most recent victory over John Moraga at UFC Fight Night 42.

Dodson delivers the bad news:

"I'm looking at six to eight months of me actually being out before I can start going back in the gym and going hard and stuff. About a year (before a fight). I ended up tearing my ACL and my MCL before the Scott Jorgensen fight (2013) and then when I was getting ready for this fight against John Moraga, I didn't know it was going to be too much of a problem but then when I threw that first kick, I felt my knee pop when I threw that first kick in that first round and that's when I felt it go out. I didn't think too much of it because my knee didn't swell up or anything. I thought it was just another little sprain on it."

According to John, he felt good enough to go for a run the following Monday after his fight in Albuquerque, New Mexico; however, it didn't take long for him to realize that there was an issue with his knee.

"It popped again that Monday after the fight when I went to go run. I was running, running and then I heard I pop again and I was like maybe I need to tell somebody and my manager forced me to go to the doctors and get it checked it out and get the final opinion on it. It turns out I blew the whole thing."

The timing couldn't have been worse for Dodson, as UFC President Dana White all but confirmed that he would be next in line to take on Demetrious Johnson for the 125-pound title. This, despite the fact that "Mighty Mouse" wasn't too thrilled on fighting Dodson again.

Perhaps because of this.

It looks like Johnson won't have to worry about Dodson, at least not for the immediate future, as "The Magician" now faces a long road back to the Octagon. But that doesn't mean that John has taken his eye off the prize.

He explains:

"That means I can go out there and do what I wanted to do in the first place -- destroy Demetrious Johnson and that's what the game plan was. He can go ahead and take his little time off and be okay being a loser. He didn't want to fight me now he doesn't have to fight me. I'm trying to get ready for all my future endeavors and game plan on what I'm going to do to people when I come back."

One of the most entertaining and fastest fighters in the game today, Dodson will now be forced to be but a very interested observer -- much like his teammate -- and see just how the flyweight division unfolds during his extended layoff.

In the meantime, we wish him a very speedy recovery.