Jimmie Rivera suffered a devastating\u00a033-second knockout loss to Marlon Moraes at June’s UFC Fight Night event in Utica. The loss snapped a twenty-fight win streak for “El Terror” and came at a great cost. Had he defeated Moraes, Rivera most likely would have been granted the next title shot at T.J. Dillashaw, but after the loss, it was back to the drawing board for the New Jersey native.<\/p>\n
Rivera decided it was time to return to the octagon just three months after the loss. Jimmie took on fan favourite John Dodson at September’s UFC 228 in Dallas. The quick turnaround had many fans and analysts feeling that Rivera was coming back too soon, especially given the way he lost to Moraes<\/a>. <\/p>\n Jimmie Rivera explained his decision to make a quick turnaround on BJ PENN Radio:<\/p>\n “You know what, no. I just kind of look back at what I needed to fix in my personal life, in my training camp, etc. and literally the following week it was getting cleared by doctors so I could fight. A week after that, we took the John Dodson fight, and that was it. We focused on the next thing,” Rivera said to BJPENN radio<\/a>. “I’ve been saying that and I tell my students and lead by example, it’s not what happens when you fall off the horse, it’s what you do when you’re after it, and if you’re gonna get back on and keep going forward. I try to be an example of that. That’s exactly it. Sometimes shit happens. You fall off, you get right back on, and you try again.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n