UFC 203: Drew Dober Overwhelms Newcomer Gonzalez
UFC 203’s FOX Sports 1 Prelims started with a bang when Drew Dober used his striking to put away the debuting Jason Gonzalez early.
Drew Dober was originally set to face the very tough striker and seven-fight UFC veteran Erik Koch, but Koch fell victim to injury yet again. In his place was TUF veteran Jason Gonzalez.
Gonzalez came into the fight with a 10-2 record, finishing all 10 of his victories within the distance. He was 1-1 on The Ultimate Fighter with a knockout. Drew Dober came into this fight at a sub-par 2-3 (one no contest) in the UFC.
Dober attempted to make it into The Ultimate Fighter 15 but was eliminated by former UFC lightweight Daron Cruickshank in the elimination round. He is mainly a ground specialist, with nine career submissions compared to two (T)KOs, but showed otherwise in this fight.
Right away it was clear that Dober was the superior fighter, with Gonzalez looking fairly jumpy. Dober was landing very solid shots, but then ate a double jab, which he reacted to with a takedown attempt.
Gonzalez stood his ground and separated, then was kicked below the belt. After a pause in action that was around a minute long, Dober bumrushed Gonzalez with plenty of straight punches that rocked Gonzalez along the fence. Gonzalez’s legs failed him this time, and he went down due to the punches.
The referee jumped in and that was it. Dober earned his first knockout victory since 2010. Depending on Koch’s injury, I would love to see that matchup made again given how great Koch looked in his Octagon return.
As for Gonzalez, he’ll likely get another chance like most short notice fighters as a sort of thank you from the UFC.
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