Drew Dober knows the magnitude of his upcoming fight is amplified for various reasons.
Dober (23-9 MMA, 10-4 UFC) faces the highly touted Islam Makhachev at UFC 259, where a win could very well catapult him to the lightweight top 10.
Getting past Makhachev won’t just result in a spot in the rankings for Dober. It’s an opportunity to derail a hype train that has a massive following, as well as the backing of UFC lightweight champion and teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov, who touted Makhachev as a future champion.
Makhachev (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) is riding a six-fight winning streak, including victories over Arman Tsarukyan and Nik Lentz, but Dober thinks the Russian is yet to be truly tested in the octagon.
“I think a lot of the hype comes from when you have one of the greatest of all time Khabib talk so highly of you, plus Russian fans follow their athletes whole-heartedly,” Dober told MMA Junkie. “So I think a lot of his hype comes from Khabib and the fanbase and all that stuff and not really so much his accomplishments in the cage. Honestly, that’s what I’m trying to test out, to kinda see if that hype is really all there and that kinda thing. I don’t really see the hype being warranted, but we’re here to find out Mar. 6.”
Dober admits he’s already been heckled by Makhachev’s army of fans, but it’s something he’s already used to. Prior to stopping Nasrat Haqparast in the first round at UFC 246, he had fans going after him and raiding his social media.
“Of course, which I love,” Dober said on Makhachev’s fans coming after him online. “Whether you want to see me win or you want to see me lose, you’re tuning into my fight, and performing martial arts in front of as many people as possible is my dream, so I absolutely adore it … Honestly I think I got more negative opinions when I was fighting Nasrat than I do with Islam, but man, it’s all the same to me.”
He continued, “It’s more eyes on my fight, and the more eyes the merrier, and I get super excited about it so I’m really just enjoying every moment of this camp.”
UFC 259’s Drew Dober not sold on Islam Makhachev: ‘A lot of his hype comes from Khabib’