Rafael Alves kept pushing his luck against the fence until Drew Dober made him pay in the UFC 277 prelims.
A body shot from Dober folded Alves at the 1:30 mark of the third after the Brazilian deftly avoided punches and fired back in kind. It was Dober’s second straight win by finish after a pair of setbacks.
Check out the stoppage win below.
.@DrewDober puts Rafael Alves down with a nasty body shot #UFC277
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 31, 2022
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/U9nkgIV0kC
Alves gave Dober plenty of looks in the first round, firing off a capoeira kick that just barely missed the mark in the first. He exploded into a takedown and nearly snatched Dober’s neck, forcing the American to play defense.
The fast pace of the first took a toll on Alves, who spent most of the second round avoiding Dober’s punches against the fence rather than attacking. An accidental eyepoke from Dober, however, was like an energy drink to Alves, who exploded back into action, swinging away and landing a huge left hand that briefly wobbled Dober.
The third round was shaping up to be another wild brawl, with both fighters throwing heavy leather near the cage. Dober, though, had more a diverse selection of targets and went to the body when Alves covered his head. That provided the opening for the fight-ending body shot, which took delayed effect as it caught up to Alves’ brain.
Alves goes back to the drawing board after a first-round submission of Mark Diakiese in his previous appearance this past November at UFC Vegas 42.
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