Chris Duncan and Drew Dober put on a hell of a scrap at UFC 334 on Saturday night.
The two lightweight warriors spent three rounds trading heavy leather, nasty kicks, and enough punishment to make their coaches nervous. Dober nearly stole the show with a crushing left hand in the final round, but Duncan had other plans. The Scottish contender survived the late scare, secured a crucial takedown, and walked away with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory.
The first round began with Dober pressing forward and forcing Duncan to fight of his back foot. Dober connected with a straight left hand that glanced off the top of Duncan’s head. Moments later Duncan would answer back with a big right hand, stunning Dober briefly. Both fighters started to open up in the final minute of the round with Dober landing a three punch combination near the fence, and Duncan answering back with a body kick. A very competitive first round could have been scored for either fighter.
The building pace of the fight continued into the second round with each fighter standing in the pocket trading back and forth. Duncan was looking for big right hands, while Dober tried to counter inside with damaging left hooks. Duncan was unsuccessful on a takedown attempt midway through the round but returned to his feet and landed a nice kick on Dober. Duncan seemed to be the more active fighter continually throwing kicks to the body of Dober. This was a highly competitive matchup between two equally skilled competitors.
The final round started with Dober coming out looking to finish. Duncan survived the early onslaught, attempting a takedown one minute into the round that was beautifully defended by Dober. Pressuring Duncan for the next two minutes Dober was hesitant to throw, as Duncan circled away. Dober landed a counter left hand that rocked Duncan with a minute left in the round. Dober was overly aggressive on his attack, giving up a desperation takedown to Duncan, who may have secured the fight with a late gritty double leg.
The judges scored this fight unanimously for Chris Duncan, who has won 5 of his last 6 fights. The Scottish contender was turned back by Renato Moicano, but bounced back nicely with an impressive win at UFC 334.
Official Result: Chris Duncan def. Drew Dober via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)