5 lower-ranked UFC fighters who always produce exciting fights in the octagon

#2. Drew Dober – UFC lightweight contender

Drew Dober's heavy hands mean that he's one of the best lightweights in the world to watch

At one point a couple of years ago, it looked like Drew Dober was finally beginning to break through as a genuine contender in the UFC’s lightweight division. Not only was he clearly in the best shape of his career, he also put together a three-fight win streak, knocking out Polo Reyes, Nasrat Haqparast and Alexander Hernandez.

Back-to-back losses to Islam Makhachev and Brad Riddell in 2021 derailed any hopes he had of really cracking the top 10, though in all honesty, that doesn’t matter too much.

The fact remains that Dober is still one of the most aggressive strikers that the UFC's 155 lb division has to offer. While he remains a slightly limited fighter in some ways, he’s still one of the most exciting fighters on the planet to watch.

Dober possesses heavy hands, excellent boxing and ruthless finishing skills, meaning that even against fighters who ought to beat him, he’s always a serious threat to pull off an upset.

Essentially, the Colorado native remains one of the UFC’s must-see attractions despite failing to break into the elite level. Fans will hope that he remains a part of the promotion for many more years to come.

---

#1. Julian Erosa – UFC featherweight contender

Julian Erosa has proven himself to be a ruthless and exciting finisher

When TUF 22 veteran Julian Erosa was released from the UFC after losing three straight fights in 2018-19, it looked like fans of the promotion had probably seen the last of ‘Juicy J’. After all, he simply didn’t appear to be at the right level to compete in the octagon.

However, since his return to the promotion in 2020, Erosa has proven that idea wrong and also established himself as one of the most exciting fighters in the world to watch. He produces fireworks seemingly every time he enters the octagon.

Erosa’s return bout against Sean Woodson was a truly wild one, as he took some serious punishment from the lanky ‘Sniper’ before coming back to submit him with a D’Arce choke. He followed that win with a flying knee knockout of Nate Landwehr in less than a minute.

More recently, ‘Juicy J’ pulled off another D’Arce against the highly regarded Charles Jourdain. He then put on a bonafide contender for the best fight of 2022 thus far in a crazy brawl with Steven Peterson this past weekend.

That fight won Erosa an extra $100k, but more than that, it seems to have firmly established him as a favorite with UFC fans.

Whether the TUF veteran can continue to climb the ladder doesn’t really matter in the bigger picture. He’s now widely known as one of the promotion’s most thrilling fighters, meaning he should retain his spot on the roster for a long time to come.