Drew Dober came away from UFC 326 in Las Vegas with another knockout, extending his record as the lightweight division’s knockout leader, which now sits at 11.
The finish came in the second round against fellow veteran Michael Johnson.
“I’m on cloud nine right now. At the end of the day, I’m such a fan of Michael Johnson,” Dober told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight, second in on Saturday’s main card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “I definitely know how dangerous he is. So in this fight, I was nervous, because my hands were full with Michael Johnson.”
Dober noted that he has to mature as a fighter, “because there’s a ton of tape on me, so I think people are going to come in with a game plan. And I’ve got to keep moving forward, so that I’m way I’m still unpredictable. That’s how we found the knockout.”
Ahead of the fight, Sportsbooks including BetMGM stopped taking action on the fight, citing irregular line movement. It’s the second time this year that a fight involving Johnson has come under scrutiny for betting irregularities. Last time, it was a fight with Alexander Hernandez at UFC 324 that was eventually pulled.
This time, the fight went ahead as planned.
Dober didn’t hear much about the concerns surrounding his fight on Saturday prior to it taking place. “It was right before I left, I saw like one Tweet. I actually didn’t know if it was sarcasm, like a sarcastic Tweet. But I’m just now hearing about it for the first time. I don’t follow betting, I’m not a gambler, I wouldn’t even know how to. So this is all new to me.”
Dober confirmed the UFC hadn’t spoken to him about the matter. After the event, UFC CEO and President Dana White said there was no truth to concerns around the bout, and dismissed a tweet posted earlier in the day claiming that Johnson’s nephew was being held hostage, with the fighter forced to lose in the second round to secure his freedom.
What’s next for Dober? “I need to finish Red Dead Redemption 2. Everyone says it’s like the greatest game of all time, and I have not got past the first chapter. Starting tomorrow, I’m going to dust off that game and I’m going to see what it’s all about.”
Watch the full UFC 326 post-fight press conference with Drew Dober above.
