UFC on FOX 27 results from last night: Drew Dober vs Frank Camacho fight recap

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight scrappers Drew Dober and Frank Camacho dueled last night (Jan. 27, 2018) at UFC on FOX 27 inside Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

After a poor start to his UFC career (0-2), Dober finally seems to have found his place in UFC. The well-rounded kickboxer has grown tremendously since first joining UFC, this was also his first bout in a few years at 170 pounds, which muddied the waters a bit. On the other side of the equation, Camacho was a relative newcomer but already has an established reputation for brawling. That said, Camacho entered this match up having split a pair of bouts and missed weight in one them, so “The Crank” could really use a clean victory.

The fighters exchanged quickly, as Dober bounced in-and-out with combinations while Camacho jabbed and countered. Camacho landed the first takedown of the fight — a slick foot sweep from the clinch — but Dober was able to scramble up fairly quickly.

The exchanges really heated back up when the two returned to their feet, and both men landed strong shots. However, Camacho was getting the better of his foe, slipping outside the left cross and countering repeatedly. In addition, he found good success with his jab.

Camacho finished the round with another foot sweep, controlling most of the final minute on top.

Dober pursued the early takedown but wound up on his back instead. When the two returned to their feet, however, Camacho looked fairly fatigued. Dober picked up on it quickly and went to town with some heavy combinations, but “The Crank’s” chin held up.

After getting picked apart for the better part of two minutes, Camacho seemed to catch a bit of a second wind and began advancing. He still ate a number of jabs, but now both men were landing heavy power shots and doing damage.

With five minutes remaining, it was likely tied up on the scorecards.

Both men looked a similar level of tired to start the third, but now Camacho chased while his foe attacked from long range. Dober attempted to switch things up with a driving double leg but hung onto the clinch too long, allowing his opponent to foot sweep him to the mat once more.

Unfortunately for “The Crank,” he was unable to hold his foe down for too long, resulting in a return to brawling. Both fighters were exhausted, but that didn’t stop either man from trading and looking for the knockout. Dober bounced in with combinations, but he also spent a lot of time backing up and ate some brutal body shots.

It was a very competitive final five minutes to finish off a back-and-forth fight, but it seemed like Camacho stole the round with his takedown and onslaught of power shots. Ultimately, the judges disagreed, awarding Dober the unanimous decision victory.

I don’t mean to discredit Dober; he put it all out there and had a dominant second round. He continued to show his development, putting together good combinations, kicking when the situation called for it, and he did an excellent job of scrambling back to his feet when put on the mat.

Dober put forth a gutsy and technical performance, even if I felt his opponent edged him out.

Outside of his odd moment in the second — in which he suddenly seemed to lose all energy and had to be punched in the face until he found it again — Camacho performed very well here. His uppercut was on point all night, and it made its mark both to the body and head. He slipped Dober’s cross with remarkable consistency, and he repeatedly made him pay with counters.

If the judges were competent, it all came down to the third round. In that round, Camacho bite his mouth piece through adversity, targeted the body, and pushed until the very end of the bout. That was pure heart, and it should have earned Camacho the victory.

Last night, Drew Dober was awarded the win following a close bout with Frank Camacho. Who should Dober face next?

For complete UFC on FOX 27: “Souza vs. Brunson” results and play-by-play, click HERE!