Drew Dober

Background

Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, Dober began training in Muay Thai at the age of 14 and was highly successful, going on to become a two-time Amateur World Champion. He also wrestled his junior and senior years at Millard North High School. Dober is also a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, having achieved that rank under Ed Shobe of Mid-America Martial Arts before he moved to train in Colorado.

Bellator

Dober faced Nick Nolte at Bellator 16 on April 29, 2010. He won the fight via arm-triangle choke submission in the first round.

Independent promotions

In the next three years, Dober would compile a 12–2 record in various promotions including Victory Fighting Championship and Titan Fighting Championship. He then appeared on The Ultimate Fighter.

The Ultimate Fighter

In February 2012, it was revealed that Dober would be a participant on The Ultimate Fighter 15. He was defeated in the entry round by Daron Cruickshank via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Dober stepped in for an injured Sérgio Moraes to face Sean Spencer at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale on November 30, 2013. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Dober next faced Nick Hein at UFC Fight Night: Munoz vs. Mousasi on May 31, 2014. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Dober faced former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner at UFC on Fox: dos Santos vs. Miocic. He secured his biggest win to date, defeating Varner via rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

Dober faced Leandro Silva on March 21, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 62. Dober lost the fight via technical submission in the second round. Silva was attempting to secure a guillotine choke after dropping to the mat with Dober's neck secured in his arm. Dober defended and moved his body to the side to stave off being caught in the choke. Silva appeared to be losing his grip on the submission as Dober continued to work free. However, the referee stepped in and touched the fighters as if to motion that he was standing them up. In reality, he was stopping the fight due to submission despite the fact that Dober never tapped and was in no significant danger of being choked out from the hold. Despite the loss, UFC awarded Dober his win money with president Dana White stating that he would have liked to see the result overturned and the match declared a no contest. The fight was later overturned to a "No Contest" by the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) after the referee Eduardo Herdy admitted his mistake.

Dober then faced Efrain Escudero at UFC 188 on June 13, 2015. He lost the fight by guillotine choke submission in the first round.

Dober was expected to face Erik Koch on January 2, 2016 at UFC 195. However, Koch pulled out of the bout in early December citing injury and was replaced by Scott Holtzman. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Dober was expected to face Islam Makhachev on April 16, 2016 at UFC on Fox 19. After the weigh ins, the UFC announced that Makhachev had failed an out-of-competition drug screening, testing positive for the banned anti-ischemic meldonium. The match was cancelled.

A rescheduled bout with Erik Koch was expected to take place on September 10, 2016 at UFC 203. However on August 11, Koch pulled out again due to injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Jason Gonzalez. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Dober next faced Olivier Aubin-Mercier on December 10, 2016 at UFC 206. He lost the fight via submission in the second round.

Dober then faced Josh Burkman on July 29, 2017 at UFC 214. He won by first round knockout.