Drew Dober spent a good long while looking for a fight at the end of the year. He has just that in a hotly anticipated, fan-friendly match-up with Bobby Green at UFC Vegas 66 this Saturday.
“It was an unintentional time off, because I couldn’t find an opponent to say yes. I was looking for a fight in November-December since August,” Dober revealed during this week’s UFC Vegas 66 media day, after spending some time on the sidelines. “But in the political game side of things where people want things perfectly, they always want to fight up, I’m just willing to engage with anybody.”
Now that he has Bobby Green in front of him, Dober is excited for the possibility of “a third banger this year.”
“Unfortunately it’s not in front of the crowd, but luckily with this Apex, we can probably hear what he’s saying in the cage,” he said of Green, later adding that the match-up was “speed versus power. I think Bobby is hard to hit, he’s very evasive and creative. And then I bring that relentless durability, heart and chin and left hand.”
With so much difficulty securing an opponent, all sorts of fantasy matchmaking comes into play. And Dober is ready to make some noise and climb the ladder at lightweight — though he’s not expecting to face British star Paddy Pimblett along the way.
“No, UFC will not let me fight him. Let’s be honest, we watched his last fight. We know what I’m capable of. That would be a fun one — I just want to fight in London at the O2 Arena, so if Paddy says yes, I’m all for it,” stated Dober. “But we all know that we’ve got Dana, UFC, all those other— they won’t let that happen.”
Dober, however went on to suggest that while he needed to review Pimblett’s recent performance against Jared Gordon, the Brit’s star power may have factored into the outcome.
“There’s something to star power in the judges’ decisions. We’re watching like octagon control and effectiveness and all this other stuff. Star power is something you’ve gotta also get over. So when you’re fighting a guy as big as Paddy, you’ve got to do more than just five more punches.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 66 media appearance by Drew Dober above.
