John Dodson was vintage John Dodson to get back in the win column against Pedro Munhoz, who always seemed to be a step behind.

Dodson (20-9 MMA, 9-4 UFC) took a split decision from Munhoz (15-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who was a game challenge throughout, but frequently unable to catch up to Dodson’s speed. Dodson won with a 30-27 score and a 29-28; a dissenting 29-28 score came in for Munhoz.

The fight was a reboot of one that was supposed to take place earlier this year in Brazil, where Munhoz came in heavy and Dodson declined to take the fight.

The bantamweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC 222 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on FS1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on pay-per-view.

The kicks were there early for both fighters. A minute in, he landed a low kick, then backed away when Dodson put a combination together. Not long after, Dodson landed a fight hand, then a left in tight. Dodson came forward witha left, then caught a Munhoz kick and used it to land another punch on the break.

Dodson landed a pair of punches quickly into the second, then put together a good combination shortly thereafter. Munhoz came forward, but when he engaged, Dodson frequently wasn’t there, which is his hallmark with exceptional footwork and speed. Munhoz connected two minutes in, but Dodson countered not long after.

Munhoz wanted to keep looking for a right hand and he kept the pressure on. With 90 seconds left, Munhoz landed a solid right, and another right after. Late in the round, Dodson threw a Superman punch off the cage, but Munhoz threw a kick at the same time and landed too low. The groin shot was right before the horn.

Munhoz threw a big right hand immediately in the third, but when he was putting another combination together Dodson complained of a low kick and got a few seconds of time. Dodson threw a solid left on the restart, then continued to get in and out.

The left hand continued to be the weapon of choice for Dodson, and Munhoz kept getting caught with it. Munhoz tried some knees to change things up, and with a minute left truly altered things with a takedown. Munhoz kept him down until 10 seconds were left in the fight, and then the two swung for the fences late.

Dodson is back in the win column after a split-decision loss to Marlon Moraes in November. He has alternated wins and losses for his past seven fights. Munhoz had a four-fight winning streak snapped for his first loss since November 2015.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 222 results include:

• John Dodson def. Pedro Munhoz via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
• C.B. Dollaway def. Hector Lombard via disqualification (late punches) – Round 1, 5:00
• Zak Ottow def. Mike Pyle via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:34
• Cody Stamann def. Bryan Caraway via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Jordan Johnson def. Adam Milstead via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC 222, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Ken Hathaway contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)