Las Vegas, NV — He generally has a million dollar smile anyway, but Drew Dober looked like the happiest man in the world at the UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Thursday, and he wasn’t even being inducted.
Instead, Dober was happy to be in Vegas to hang out with fans, and be one himself for a change.
“I love international Fight Week. I love T-Mobile events. Adesanya fighting on Saturday. Just everything about this week is so incredible, and I’m just eating it up,” he told Cageside Press at the Hall of Fame ceremony.
Despite being a big part of the UFC himself, Dober hasn’t found it hard switching to fan mode. “I was a fan first and foremost. Before I was a fighter, I was a fan. So now this is my opportunity to take a step back, back in the seats, enjoy the show, and just talk sports with everyone else,” he stated. “So this is my break away from my job, and now I get to be the spectator.”
When we lost saw Dober, in the cage anyway, it was against Terrance McKinney in a wild fight that, while it didn’t go the distance, definitely earned that barn-burner label. That led to some time off for the 33-year old.
“Unfortunately more time than I want. I had some bumps and bruises going into the fight and of course Terrance made them worse. So we had to take some time off, some necessary time, but I was eager to get back,” Dober told us. “I heal quick, and then we got something scheduled, and we’re trying to get in there as many times as possible.”
That something scheduled is against Rafael Alves at UFC 277 later this month. What can we expect from that fight? Dober had the answer immediately.
“I’m going to try to stuff his takedowns, find his chin and put him to sleep.”
Watch our full interview with UFC lightweight Drew Dober above.
