Drew Dober has a big fight against Rafael Alves tomorrow night (Sat., July 30, 2022) at UFC 277 live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV)/ABC/ESPN from inside American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Tex., but the lightweight veteran is already thinking about a potential clash with rising star Paddy Pimblett.
Dober, who has been competing under the UFC banner since 2013, is one of the most exciting strikers in the promotion’s stacked 155-pound division. While Dober has lost two out of his last three trips to the Octagon he is coming off a blistering comeback knockout win over Terrence McKinney at UFC Vegas 50 back in March.
If Dober is able to add another feather to his lightweight cap this weekend at UFC 277 he’d love the opportunity to fight “Baddy” and see what the hype is all about. Remember, Pimblett is 3-0 inside of the Octagon and coming off an impressive submission finish over Jordan Leavitt at UFC London last weekend.
“I want to collide with that hype train for sure,” said Dober during Wednesday’s pre-fight media scrum. “O2 Arena? That would be incredible, but yeah, he has a really solid jiu-jitsu game, and he showcased it in the last fight. He does leave his chin out there, which I think that would pose some problems when fighting me, but I’m open and game for the opportunity, and we’ll see what comes up after this on Saturday.”
While Dober has fought some of the best in the division, including Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush, he’s looking to take part in fan-favorite matchups moving forward and isn’t overly concerning himself with rankings. Saturday’s tilt with Alves could provide Dober with exactly what he’s looking for.
“The rankings are cool and everything,” Dober said. “Being a part of the rankings was incredible, but it’s fighting the stars that I’m more worried about. I don’t care about the number, and the gold is nice, but honestly I just want to be like a Donald Cerrone, Clay Guida, Joe Lauzon. Like those cats who have never held the gold but have fantastic fights throughout their entire career, and I’m gonna chase the title for sure.
“I’m gonna try and sneak up those rankings, but it’s not what I put my thoughts on. My thoughts are always on the biggest and best fights every single time I’m in the cage, because I don’t know when this is gonna be over for me, and so the next one after this, he can be ranked or not ranked, but I want a big-name fight.”
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 277 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ABC/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
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