It took weeks for Drew Dober to land an opponent at UFC Denver, and as it turned out, Jean Silva was more than up to the challenge.
Making a two-week turnaround after knocking out Charles Jourdain at UFC 303, Silva moved up a weight class to face off with Dober in what turned out to be a bloody affair. Both men had their moments, but Silva’s offense including some nasty spinning elbows ripped open a cut above Dober’s eyebrow early on.
By the third round, it felt as if Dober’s eyebrow was hanging off his face, and ref Herb Dean opted to bring in the doctor — who not surprisingly waved off the fight, giving Silva his second finish in two weeks.
Having missed weight for the fight with Jourdain, Silva had been left out of consideration for a post-fight bonus. But the back-and-forth, high intensity scrap with Dober earned the pair Fight of the Night at UFC Denver.
Performance of the Night bonuses, meanwhile, went to Montel Jackson and Charles Johnson. “InnerG” Johnson floored Joshua Van with an uppercut in the third round of a very fun flyweight fight that capped off the preliminary card at the Ball Arena in Denver.
Jackson likewise knocked out Da’Mon Blackshear, but took just 18 seconds to do so.
All four bonus-winners at UFC Denver will pocket an additional $50,000 USD for their efforts, on top of show/win money, outfitting pay etc.
