Drew
Dober (27-13) is looking to make the most out of upcoming
opponent Jean Silva’s
(13-2) unusual walkout.
Advertisement
Silva will step up a weight class to replace Mike Davis
for a short-notice lightweight clash against Dober in the co-main
event at UFC
on ESPN 59 on Saturday. It will also be a quick turnaround of
two weeks for Silva, who brutally knocked out Charles
Jourdain at UFC 303
on June 29 but missed weight for the fight.
In addition to his nearly perfect finishing rate, Silva is also
known for a bizarrely long walkout that approaches five
minutes in length. Dober will be walking out second and waiting in
the tunnel while Silva takes his time on his way to the Octagon.
However, Dober believes Silva might end up at a disadvantage at UFC
Denver because of the long walkout. Despite having started his
early fighting career in Denver, Dober will be fighting in the city
under the UFC banner for the first time this weekend. Dober claims
he will draw more motivation from the home crowd energy the longer
he waits in the tunnel for Silva’s walkout.
“It’s not new to me. I fought Rafael
Alves, and he had a long walkout as well,” Dober told MMAjunkie.com. “When you take in the moments,
he’s gonna give me a lot of moments to take in, and I’m just gonna
enjoy every second to minute of it… What I love, and this might be
a disadvantage to Silva, when I’m in that pit, I finally get to see
the crowd, the lights, the energy. You pulled me from the locker
room, and now I’m in front of the home crowd at Denver, Colorado.
And so the longer I’m there, the more motivated I become. We’re
bringing in some heat.”
Dober is tied with Dustin
Poirier for the most knockouts in UFC lightweight history
(nine). However, currently 1-2 in his last three and coming off a
unanimous decision loss against Renato
Carneiro, Dober isn’t thinking of extending his knockout
record.
“Thing is, I received that record not even thinking about it and
the moment I started thinking about it, my performances kind of
dipped,” he said. “So, no, I stopped thinking about it. Knockout
record is great, we’re also tied for a guillotine record So these
are the things that you guys tell me after the fact. I get in there
and I just do me.”