The F-104 was a very competent dogfighter. The key, with any aircraft,
is to get the adversary to your best operating envelope rather than for
you to visit his. Flown at high speed and preferably at high altitude,
the Zipper could do a very good job. When enhanced by modern element
tactics, the airplane got very competitive.

Similarly, the F-105D could be a pretty reasonable dogfighter if you
were careful to keep your energy high and your altitude low. Venturing
into the vertical was a recipe for disaster.

MiG-17 was a great dogfighter...unless you forced him to come up to the
400 KIAS++ region where he couldn't maintain closure and couldn't
overcome the high stick forces.

All of matter of fighting your own best fight.