LAS VEGAS — Drew Dober is starting to come into his own.
He takes on highly touted Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 246 on Saturday night, and having won four of his past five bouts, Dober (21-9-1 MMA, 7-5-1 UFC) attributes his recent success to Team Elevation.
“It’s just that change I made with Team Elevation,” Dober told MMA Junkie. “Training with Team Elevation, there was definitely a transition period, but now since I was settled in and just listening to all these coaches and competitors around me and being 31 years of age, I think everything is coming together. I’ve always considered myself a late bloomer, so I’m hitting my prime now and I’m getting better, faster, stronger every single day at the gym, and I look forward to showcasing it Jan. 18.”
Dober’s lone loss in his past five fights came to Beneil Dariush, a fight he was winning before a critical mistake cost him the fight. In Haqparast, he draws an equally exciting fighter, who likes to come forward and take guys out.
“Yup that’s pretty much I feel why they put us together,” Dober said. “Both him and I like to stand and trade and look for a knockout, so we’re definitely going to start this fight card off nice.”
Since dropping his UFC debut, Haqparast (11-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has won his last three straight and is coming off a “Performance of the Night” knockout over Joaquim Silva.
But Dober, who’s coming off of a finish of his own over Marco Reyes, says he’s grown accustomed to fighting that style of opponent.
“He’s pretty impressive,” Dober said. “Southpaw striker, he’s patient, he finds a home for his left hand, but I’ve fought guys who’ve looked to knock me out or as tough as he is, so it’s nothing new to me. I’m going to go in there and do my thing and look for that victory.”
“He has a large fanbase,” Dober added. “Since the fight got announced, even my Instagram got pumped up, so yeah, I really enjoy this hype, and I look forward to testing it out in the cage.”
They will get to compete on a card headlined by the returning former double champ Conor McGregor, who takes on fan-favorite Donald Cerrone.
And Dober is happy that the card turned out to be a big pay-per-view event.
“Oh yeah, it’s super exciting,” Dober said. “When I got the fight offer, there was a whole lot of questions around it. I just had the date and the opponent and I was like, ‘Sure, why not,’ but I could definitely see how Conor pulls the strings. It all depended on what Conor was doing, where we were fighting and all that stuff, but it’s super exciting to be on that card. I get to see all the stuff happen backstage.”
“Conor and ‘Cowboy’ are drawing in the eyes, and so it’s my responsibility to entertain the fans.”
Training with the likes of bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen, lightweight contender Justin Gaethje and welterweight standout Neil Magny, Dober is confident that on Jan. 18, he gets to derail the hype of the young Haqparast.
“That all depends on if Nasrat wants to fall over in the first or in the third but I’m just going to showcase heart, perseverance and all of the training I’ve been doing,” Dober said.
UFC 246 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+
UFC 246's Drew Dober feels like he's just coming into his prime