Chris Duncan beat Drew Dober by unanimous decision on the UFC 334 prelims in New York on Saturday night, and he nearly gave it all back in the last minute. Dober cracked him with a counter left hand that rocked the Scot with roughly a minute to go in Round 3. Duncan, hurt, did the smart thing and shot a double leg, dragging Dober to the mat to burn the clock. The judges scored it 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Duncan.
The win pushes Duncan to 16-3 overall and 7-2 in the UFC, according to Sherdog. Dober falls to 29-16 with one no contest, and 15-12 (1 NC) inside the Octagon.
How it played out
Dober took the center early and made Duncan fight going backward. A straight left from the veteran skimmed off the top of Duncan’s head, and Duncan answered with a right hand that briefly stunned him, per Cageside Press. The final minute of the opener got loud, with Dober landing a three-punch combination along the fence and Duncan firing back with a kick to the body. Cageside called it a round that could have been scored for either man.
View post on X
Round 2 turned into a pocket fight. Duncan kept hunting the big right hand while Dober tried to slip left hooks in on the inside. Duncan came up empty on a takedown midway through, got back to his feet, and kept chopping at Dober’s body with kicks, which made him look like the busier fighter. Henry Cejudo, watching along on X, posted with two rounds banked: “Dober will need a finish to win this one Duncan up 2-0”.
Dober seemed to know it. He came out for Round 3 looking to end the night, and Duncan weathered the early rush before trying a takedown about a minute in that Dober shut down cleanly. Then things stalled for a bit. For close to two minutes Dober kept walking Duncan down but wouldn’t let his hands go, and Duncan circled away. When the left finally landed, it landed hard. Dober went all in chasing the finish, overcommitted, and Duncan got to his hips for the late double leg that Cageside suggested may have sealed the fight.
View post on X
Where it leaves them
Cageside noted Duncan has now won five of his last six, with the lone setback in that stretch coming against Renato Moicano. This was the bounce-back he needed after that loss. Dober, for his part, kept a three-round fight close for the full 15 minutes and drops one to a younger contender on the cards.
My take: the 29-28 card is the most honest read of this fight, because two judges giving Duncan a clean sweep after he got rocked in Round 3 is generous. Still, that double leg was the best decision anyone made all night. A hurt fighter with a minute left usually wants to prove he’s fine by swinging back, and Duncan chose wrestling over pride. Dober’s real mistake came earlier, in those two quiet minutes of stalking without throwing, when the finish he needed was right in front of him.
View post on X
