UFC lightweight star Drew Dober spoke on the controversial ending to his fight at UFC Mexico City.
Drew Dober was on the unfortunate end of one of the few debated stoppages at UFC Mexico City. But despite immediately protesting his loss to one of the card’s biggest stars, Dober took a more measured tone in his first post-fight remarks.
Dober and Manuel Torres treated fans to quite the show in the UFC Mexico City co-main event. It was a pivotal lightweight matchup between two of the division’s high-octane brawlers, and the action didn’t disappoint.
But despite Torres vs. Dober playing out almost exactly how many fans expected, it didn’t play out without some controversy.
- READ MORE: Veteran referee breaks down what fans don’t understand about controversial Torres vs Dober stoppage
UFC fan favorite speaks on controversial KO loss at UFC Mexico City
Midway through the first round, Torres landed a stiff jab with a straight right that landed flush to Dober’s chin. Dober quickly dropped to the canvas when Torres countered a desperate Dober takedown attempt with standing hammer fists as Dober attempted a single-leg.
After a slew of Torres’s punches went unanswered during the exchange, referee Mike Beltran brought the fight to a screeching halt and awarded Torres the TKO victory. Dober immediately looked perplexed in the stoppage, but appeared visibly wobbled and stunned as officials attempted to explain to him what had happened.
Dober struck an honest tone in his first post-fight statement after UFC Mexico City.
In a recent statement to X, Dober shut down retirement talk after UFC Mexico City and reacted to the controversial stoppage.
“Well, that sucked,” Dober began. A beautifully timed one two by Manuel Torres. There’s not much to go off of other than, unfortunately, stepping in front of the rear hand of a long power puncher.
“As much as I love Mexico City, it’s given me two of my most embarrassing losses of my career, haha. But the food and people are still the best. I’m happy and healthy and excited to be a stay at home dad for a while.”
Dober could take some time off after his third consecutive loss, and fourth defeat in his last five fights. Before the loss to Torres, Dober lost back-to-back fights with Renato Moicano and Jean Silva.
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‘Middleweight Francis Ngannou’ stole the show at UFC Mexico City
Torres vs. Dober was far from the only major highlight from a stacked card at UFC Mexico City. A 22-year-old debutant, Ateba Gautier, drew comparisons to Francis Ngannou with a wicked knockout on the UFC Mexico City prelims.
Boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. walked Ronaldo Rodriguez out to the Octagon for his matchup with Kevin Borjas. But despite the fanfare, Rodriguez suffered his first UFC defeat by unanimous decision.
Not all of the highlights took place within the fights themselves. UFC Octagon announcer Bruce Buffer had a rare mishap when he announced one of the prelim fight’s winners incorrectly, prompting a wild response on social media.
- READ MORE: 22-year-old ‘killer’ backed to win world title following brutal KO win in UFC Mexico City debut