Drew Dober

Overview

Eleven of Drew Dober's fifteen UFC wins came by KO/TKO, and seven of his finishes ended in the first round. That's the headline. The footnote is that he has also lost four times by submission and has never beaten an opponent our model rates as elite.

The Lightweight is 15-11 in the UFC with one no contest, and 12 of those 15 wins were finishes. His career has gone in waves: a 3-1 run here, a 1-4 stretch there, then another surge. He carries a two-fight win streak into his next fight.

Wins by knockout. Losses by submission. That is the shape of his UFC career.

UFC Career

Dober debuted at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate Finale and lost a unanimous decision to Sean Spencer. A second straight decision loss to Nick Hein followed, and then came his first UFC win, a first-round submission of Jamie Varner at 1:52. His Leandro Silva fight ended in a no contest after a second-round result was overturned, and Efrain Escudero submitted him in 54 seconds in his next bout.

From 2016 to 2018 he won four of five, including knockouts of Jason Gonzalez and Joshua Burkman. The 2019 to 2020 run brought three more finishes, all inside two rounds. Then Islam Makhachev submitted him in the third round at UFC 259, and Brad Riddell beat him on the cards.

His best stretch came in 2022 and 2023: stoppages of Terrance McKinney, Rafael Alves and King Green, then, after a first-round loss to Matt Frevola, a first-round finish of Ricky Glenn. Three straight losses followed against Renato Moicano, Jean Silva and Manuel Torres. He answered with third-round and second-round knockouts of Kyle Prepolec and Michael Johnson.

Twenty-seven UFC fights, and he still finishes more than he goes the distance.

Fighting Style

Dober is a busy striker who lands more per minute than most UFC fighters, though his accuracy is below the UFC average. He absorbs strikes and defends at about the rate you'd expect, so he is not hard to hit, but he keeps the volume coming.

He rarely shoots for takedowns and rarely hunts submissions. His takedown defense is better than most, yet four of his losses came by submission, so the fights that go wrong for him tend to be the ones that end on the mat.

The finish pattern is clear. Of his 11 knockout wins, six came in round one, three in round two and two in round three. His single submission win also came in round one. Only three of his 15 wins went to a decision.

Notable Wins

• Alexander Hernandez — KO/TKO, round 2, 4:25, UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira (2020)
• Terrance McKinney — KO/TKO, round 1, 3:17, UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev (2022)
• Nasrat Haqparast — KO/TKO, round 1, 1:10, UFC 246 (2020)
• Ricky Glenn — KO/TKO, round 1, 2:36, UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs. Green (2023)

Quick Facts

• Division: Lightweight
• UFC record: 15-11, 1 no contest
• Professional record (all promotions): 29-15-0
• UFC debut: 2013
• Stance: Southpaw
• Height / reach: 5'8" / 70"
• Team: Elevation Fight Team, Denver, CO
• Born: Omaha, NE, United States