UFC vet Drew Dober disclosed that although he won his bout against Kyle Prepolec at UFC Vancouver, he lost a new addition to his family.
The fighter revealed that while many fans were happy for his comeback win against Prepolec, he was unable to celebrate as he was mourning his unborn child, who passed away during his fight camp training. In a post-fight conference interview, Dober opened up about his current life situation and how he’s been dealing with it.
“Three losses definitely hurt,” Dober said. “I’ve never been in this period of my life. You get a lot of questions about retirement. In camp, unfortunately, I lost my (unborn) child. We’ve been dealing with a lot, and a lot of pressure. It just forced me to think about what I care about, why I do this, and what’s been going wrong.”
“I started taking myself a little too seriously,” Dober said. “I don’t know if it was the knockout record or just being a family man or just being paid more. Who knows? But I had to remind myself why I started and what kept me going. I was living in my car trying to be a fighter, trying to make it to the UFC.
“There was a certain attitude of, ‘I don’t care what happens. Just let me enjoy this.’ We had to get rid of all the expectations and taking myself too seriously. So now in this fight, I got to fight like it could be my last. You just enjoy it. I had a great dance partner in Kyle. Man, I absolutely loved every moment I was in there. It just unfortunately took me to the third round to find the dog. We’re going to bring it in a little sooner next time.”
Dober broke a divisional record on Saturday, surpassing Dustin Poirier for the most knockouts/TKOs in promotion history. The fighter revealed that he is happy about this accomplishment despite his current situation.
“Dustin Poirier is finally retired, so I don’t have to race him anymore,” Dober laughed. “It’s a special moment. Most knockouts in the lightweight division, that record is intense. The lightweight division, I think, is by far the most exciting division to ever exist.
“I remember when I was 17 years old, somebody told me I should fight in the featherweight division because I’m not big enough to fight as a lightweight. I cried because the lightweight division is the best. That’s where I want to do my work. So now, holding that record of the most knockouts in the lightweight division is a badge that I’m going to carry until I’m in the grave.”
It is uncertain what’s next for Drew Dober, but for now, he plans to take some time off to rest and be with his family.
