Drew Dober Wants Every Moment To Be Remembered

What keeps the 35-year-old motivated to compete is his undeniable love for the sport. Whether he walks out of the Octagon with his hand raised or his head hung low, he still wakes up the next morning looking forward to his next opportunity to perform in front of fight fans.

The passion developed at 16 years old, when Dober first had dreams of just making it to the UFC. Eighteen years later, Dober etched his name in UFC history with a first-round knockout win over Ricky Glenn. Dober now sits alone atop the lightweight record books with the most knockouts in the division’s history, surpassing the likes of Dustin Poirier, Donald Cerrone and Justin Gaethje.

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“One of my favorite moments in the UFC was my last fight,” Dober said reflecting on his career to this point. “Not only achieving the lightweight KO king record, but also having my daughter in the APEX with me to watch that fight. I think that most recent memory is probably going to be the most exciting and the one I remember forever.

“Being able to achieve the knockout record and be in the history books is surreal. It’s exciting and humbling at the same time.”

What’s helped Dober reach that mark is his exceptional power, mixed with a fearlessness to stand and trade with some of the division’s most dangerous contenders. The best example of this was in March of 2022, when he faced knockout artist Terrance McKinney at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs Ankalaev.

Heading into that fight, McKinney finished five straight opponents in the first round, three of those coming by knockout in under a minute, including a seven-second knockout over Matt Frevola. Despite being knocked down only 10 seconds into their fight, Dober’s resilience kept him pushing forward late into the round, until he inevitably earned a come-from-behind knockout victory of his own.

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“I try to forget that I’m a power puncher. I have to do a lot more to these people to really end the fight,” Dober said. “I tell myself I have pillows for hands, and I’ve got to do a lot more to get the job done. Then I surprise myself and everyone else when the knockout happens.

“I’m an impatient fighter, and I think that just translates to me being exciting. Truthfully, I view myself as the Rocky Balboa in those Hollywood boxing films, and I just want every single moment I’m in that Octagon to be a moment to be remembered. Win, loss, draw, whatever, I want every single moment to be remembered.”

On Saturday, February 3, Dober will look for his 10th knockout against Brazil’s Renato Moicano at UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs Imavov in Las Vegas. Moicano hasn’t fought since November of 2022, when he locked in a rear-naked choke to submit Brad Riddell in the first round. It was Moicano’s 10th win by that method in his professional career.

“Renato Moicano is extremely tough,” Dober said. “He’s a veteran, a gamer, and he’s fought the likes of [Rafael] Fiziev, Jose Aldo, The Korean Zombie. I mean, the guy is really tough, and exciting, as well, so to be able to share the Octagon with him, it’s going to be Fight of the Night, for sure. I think it’s the people’s main event, and this is the fight to tune in for. I’m very excited to be able to test my abilities against the caliber of Moicano.”

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Dober told UFC.com that he expects to get his hand raised because Moicano “leaves his chin a little open,” and that with his power and accuracy, “it’s only a matter of time before I find it.” Even if that exact result doesn’t come to fruition on Saturday, this fight will kick start what Dober hopes is a very busy 2024.

“I’m trying to fight as often as possible [in 2024],” Dober said. “The number for me is four [fights]. We’ll see if we can make that work depending on who’s available. I’m not looking for the string of wins or this or that, I just want to be able to step into that Octagon as often as I can this year.”