Drew Dober stopped by the Top Turtle Podcast to discuss his upcoming fight and more. 

Reflecting on his 13-year career...

Despite being only 31-years old, Drew Dober has been fighting for well over a decade. After an extensive amateur career, which started when he was just 17, he’s compiled a 31 fight professional career. Looking back at that career, Dober feels immense pride in what he’s been able to accomplish. 

“Each fight is my own little Rocky story. Each fight is like a little baby that I like showing off and talking about. I just love doing what I do,” Dober said. “The more fights I have on my legacy, the more stories I have for my grandchildren.”

Similar to children, it’s hard for Dober to say that he loves on of his fights more than another. However, he does have some that stick out to him. 

“I have favorite ones; I can’t really choose a favorite one in particular,” he said. “My first fight being in Strikeforce at 18 was intense. My last fights before getting signed by the UFC was absolutely intense. And not all the stories are first round wins, some are just dragged out, huge fights that I absolutely love.”

Being grounded for a fight…

While fighting on the local scene, Dober was looking to make a name for himself. More than just being the young kid that all the MMA fighters in his gym beat up on, he wanted to prove himself in the cage with some impressive wins. That’s when a big opportunity jumped out at him. 

“I was trying to get into an 8-man tournament and the promoter said ‘hey, you have to have two fights in our promotion to be eligible,” he said. “Alright, I’ll do it. So I went to high school [that day], went to wrestling practice and then I drove and fought that same night.”

Even though his mom was always the supportive type, that didn’t mean she didn’t take issue with the way that the young Dober went about it. 

“She was like ‘how’d you do?... good, you’re grounded,” he remembers her saying. “It didn’t last very long, but she’s been super supportive of me since day one.”

Fighting during Cowboy/Conor weekend…

His mother, (yes, the same one who once grounded him) loves to come to his fights. Dober laughs as he remembers how she shows up basically cageside for each one of his fights - a fact he thought would end when he got to the UFC (it didn’t). However, with all the hoopla around this weekend, Dober is telling his mom to sit this one out. 

“For this one, I told [my mom] you can go ahead and stay home,” he said. “Las Vegas is going to be nuts, it’s going to be expensive, and it’s just outrageous.”

Even though he doesn’t think his mom should be in attendance to deal with everything, Dober is excited. He’s excited not just for the eyes that will be on him to fight, but as a fan of the sport as well. 

“I get to be a fan in one of the largest pay-per-views in 2020,” he said. “I have a job to do, but I am extremely passionate at the job I do. So not only do I get to compete against the best in the world and on the largest stage in the world, but I also get to watch all the shenanigans in the back room and backstage.”

In fact, he’ll probably even pop in at more events. 

“I was just looking and they announced the media conference on Wednesday and I was like ‘I might just show up to that to hang out and watch like everyone else,” Dober said. 

After catching all of the shenanigans, Dober will have a job to do against Nasrat Haqparast as part of the undercard of UFC 246.