UFC lightweight requests fight to be pushed back ahead of UFC 284

Modified Feb 09, 2023 12:45 GMT

Drew Dober (bottom), Islam Makhachev (top)

UFC lightweight Drew Dober has offered to step in and face Jalin Turner following the news of Dan Hooker's recent injury.

'The Hangman' was set to face Turner at UFC 285 in March. However, news recently broke that the New Zealander had suffered a hand injury whilst training. As it stands, 'The Tarantula' has no new opponents confirmed by the UFC.

Upon hearing the news of Hooker's injury, Dober took to Twitter and offered to face Turner himself but stated that the bout must take place in April, a month after UFC 285:

"Hookers out. Renato is ghosting. @JalinTurner if you wanna stay in the game I'm down to scrap in April. Know you wouldn't be on UFC 285 but your camp won't go to waste."

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Jalin Turner is yet to respond to Dober's fight offer, but their current form suggests a bout between the two has all the potential to be a barnburner.

Dober is currently riding high on a three-fight win streak and has earned five Fight or Performance bonuses in his last seven outings. Meanwhile, the 29-year-old Turner has been equally impressive after turning around his mixed form. He recently extended his win streak to five with a submission victory over Brad Riddell last summer.

When UFC lightweight Drew Dober called out Paddy Pimblett

Apart from throwing his name in the hat to face Jalin Turner, Drew Dober has also been calling for a fight with British MMA star Paddy Pimblett.

The 34-year-old American has been vying for a fight with 'The Baddy' following the Brit's disappointing performance against Jared Gordon in December. Paddy Pimblett picked up the victory via unanimous decision, but the result was met with much controversy and considered by some fans as a major robbery.

Dober appeared on Ariel Helwani's The MMA Hour back in December, where he weighed in on Pimblett's performance. According to the American, after seeing the Liverpudlian face Gordon, he believes he'd have no issue putting a stop to the 29-year-old's hype:

"[Paddy Pimblett's] a cash cow. He's somebody that they're gonna wanna try to keep him for as long as possible, and I'm notorious for killing hypes."

Dober added:

"[Pimblett] leaves his chin up there way too long. His jiu-jitsu is a problem for sure...and so he might win this first round, but I will find his chin... He has a lot to improve upon. I think it was just a really really close fight [Pimblett vs. Gordon]. Some people disagree on how close it was, but I just feel when you're fighting a guy with this much star power, it can't be close."

Catch the show here (Dober's comments from the 43:00 mark):

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Edited by Aziel Karthak