Drew Dober Is Always Chasing The Moment

"Honestly, I don't even think about that when I'm in there. When I'm fighting, I want to entertain myself, and so that's kind of where the entertainment comes from. 

"I'm trying to excite myself, because we only live once. I only have 15 minutes in this Octagon, so I'm trying to take as many moments as possible.

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"It's just how I fight. I'm an impatient person. I'm a risk taker and, man, I love exaggerated moments."

It's fair to say Dober has had more than his fair share of those.

In his 15-year professional MMA career, Dober has notched 27 wins, with 20 of them coming inside the distance. His penchant for getting into all-out wars in the Octagon has meant that he's taken the occasional L or two, but that hasn't dampened his enthusiasm for the sport.

And on Saturday night, Dober will make the walk to the UFC Octagon for the 25th time as he bids to put right some unfinished business that started in Mexico City a decade ago.

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Dober was matched with Efrain Escudero at UFC 188 in a match that was expected to deliver fireworks, but one mistake resulted in an early night for Dober as he was submitted inside the opening minute of the fight.

But, despite that bad memory of his last time competing in Mexico City, Dober is happy to be back, and keen to deliver a better display than what he described as an "unfortunate performance" from June 2015.

"Oh, it's fun," he enthused.

"Mexico City is beautiful. And the Mexican crowd sure loves fighting. I love the attention and the positivity that we're seeing and fight night's gonna be fun.

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"I think the last time I was here in Mexico, I slipped and fell, and the fight was over in, like, 30 seconds or so.

"So, yeah. We are not repeating that experience!"

That self-awareness has helped him claim highlight-reel finishes of the likes of Nasrat Haqparast, Terrance McKinney, King Green, and Ricky Glenn over the last few years.

But his last two outings, against Renato Moicano and Jean Silva, both ended in defeat for Dober, who has taken time to reflect and reset ahead of his return this weekend.

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Last month, Dober posted an Instagram photo looking at himself in the mirror, with the caption, "Past mistakes, past failures, worries, and doubts. What are you doing to shut those voices out? As my breathing gets harder, my mind becomes quieter." 

We asked him about what that meant, and he revealed the mindset that has taken him through past obstacles to where he stands today.
 

"When you're by yourself, in your car, you have all the negativity – thoughts, the doubts, all that stuff," he explained.

"But in training, and in pushing forward and trying to overcome obstacles, you start realizing that your physical exhaustion quiets your mind. And that's kind of how I live my life.

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"Putting yourself in the moments of fear actually quiets the fear."

With that fear silenced, and his love of competition uppermost in his mind, Dober is ready to step out into Arena CDMX for his co-main event clash with Mexico's Torres.

It's a matchup that he recognizes as a clash between two fan-friendly fighters, and he's looking forward to walking out in front of a raucous crowd and putting his opponent's toughness to the test on Saturday night. 

"There will definitely be fireworks," he said.

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"I definitely know why they matched us up in Mexico City, in front of the Mexican crowd that loves fighting, because they're gonna love this fight. And I'm really excited to see how tough he is.

"I think he's a really cool guy. I like the way he fights, but I think he is similar to me earlier in my career, and I'm the more evolved version of that fighting style."