A change in mentality might be all longtime UFC lightweight Drew Dober needed ahead of UFC Fight Night 261
VANCOUVER – In a business that frequently falls victim to a “what have you done for me lately?” mentality, Drew Dober could be in a precarious position right now.
The longtime UFC lightweight has dropped three straight fights, which just by virtue of the number makes it the worst skid of Dober’s career.
In the 2020s, Dober is just 6-6. But hidden right there in plain sight is a stat that puts him up there with the division’s most exciting fighters. Despite the .500 stretch the past nearly six years, Dober has seven post-fight bonus awards.
If Dober didn’t know he’s still got stuff in the tank – spoiler alert: he does – the members of the UFC brass haven’t been shy about rewarding his efforts with extra checks.
Saturday, Dober (27-15 MMA, 13-11 UFC) has his sights first set on snapping that nasty three-fight skid when he takes on Kyle Prepolec (18-9 MMA, 0-3 UFC) on the prelims at UFC Fight Night 262 (ESPN+) at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
“This is an opportunity for me to show what I’m capable of still,” Dober told MMA Junkie on Tuesday not long after he arrived in Canada for fight week from his home base in Denver. “I’m getting older in my age, but I’m still super talented, feeling like a killer. Kyle gets to, unfortunately, be presented with this.”
More than a decade ago, Dober, still in his early 20s, was mired in a stretch of three losses in four fights – just like right now. He responded with a fairly epic 8-2 run with five knockouts and three bonuses.
In his current 6-6 stretch, the losses have come to some elite names, including former champion Islam Makhachev, recent title challenger Renato Moicano and Jean Silva.
Despite the three straight losses, Dober said there’s no feeling of being painted into a corner.
“The pressure was taken off,” he said. “What resulted in the losing streak was the extra added pressure I put on myself to perform and prove I’m a champion. I deviated from enjoying the moments, and I had a large expectation on how I should perform. Each bigger opponent gave me problems, and they’re all talented in themselves, but now I’m back to enjoying it again.”
That enjoyment is tantamount how he hopes the rest of his career plays out, it sounds like. He has a dance partner who isn’t expected to win. Dober is roughly a 5-1 betting favorite against Prepolec, who never has won in the UFC in two stints with the promotion.
But Dober said if the enjoyment is there for him, the difference in results should be noticeable.
“In the beginning of my career, I was doing this for the love of it – this was my hobby,” Dober said. “And then it became a job, and you treat it like a job. I found success in that, but unfortunately a lot of failure, too. So now I’m getting back to treating this like a hobby again. I asked my wife, and she’s allowing me to do this again. This is just my hobby, and when I’m having fun, I play hard.”
Check out Dober’s full interview above.
