LAS VEGAS – There was a time when Drew Dober pushed hard for a matchup with Paddy Pimblett, but now he thinks it’s an act of futility.
When Pimblett (20-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC) was looking for an opponent to fight at UFC 282 this past weekend, Dober (25-11 MMA, 12-6 UFC) threw his name in the hat hoping for a chance to fight the surging British star. It didn’t materialize, and the promotion instead booked a pairing with Jared Gordon.
Pimblett won the fight, but it wasn’t without controversy as he got the unanimous decision win much to the chagring of the overwhelming majority of the MMA community.
Dober, who meets Bobby Green (29-13-1 MMA, 10-8-1 UFC) on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 216 at the UFC Apex, has shared the octagon with many of the best lightweights in the world. Dober’s resume includes bouts with the likes of Islam Makhachev, Beneil Dariush, Alexander Hernandez, Terrance McKinney, and more, which is a level of competition Pimblett hasn’t experienced.
Given how much Pimblett struggled to get past Gordon, Dober doesn’t have much hope that fight will ever come to fruition.
“UFC will not let me fight him,” Dober told MMA Junkie and other reporters at UFC Fight Night 216 media day on Wednesday. “Let’s be honest. We watched his last fight. We know what I’m capable of. That’d be a fun one. I just want to fight in London at that O2 Arena. So if Paddy says yes, I’m all for it. But we all know. We got Dana, UFC and all those – they won’t let that happen.”
If the UFC somehow did oblige and give Dober the fight, he knows there would be climbing uphill to a degree. His goal would be to finish the fight, but Dober theorizes that anyone going to the scorecards with “The Baddy” is at risk of experiencing what happened to Gordon.
“My opinion on the entire matter is there’s something to star power in the judges’ decisions,” Dober said. “We’re watching octagon control and effectiveness and all this other stuff – star power is something you’ve also got to get over. So when you’re fighting a guy as big as Paddy, you’ve got to do more than just five more punches.”
For now, Dober is focused on his looming showdown with Green, which is another fight that gets him amped. It’s the first fight for Green since he returned from a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspension for a contaminated supplement, and while some might have questions about Green being clean, Dober has zero concerns.
“It’s rough. Cross-contaminated supplements is a thing,” Dober said. “I’ve seen that. I think Bobby made a mistake, but he didn’t intentionally make a mistake. I don’t think I’m fighting a steroided, chemically performance-enhancing Bobby Green. I think it was just an error, and he had to pay his punishment. But I don’t think he did it intentionally. I think he’s a natural, clean fighter. He’s been fighting for the longest time. So I’m not worried about it at all.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 216.
