The Mexico City Arena will be the arena that will host the explosive main card Manuel Torres vs. Drew Dober. However, the other co-main card I’m looking at is the 155 LBS bout between Manuel Torres and Drew Dober. A fight that promises nothing less than fireworks and pure strike power. Unless you are a pro UFC pundit, the names of these fighters might sound new to you, that’s why we will start by overviewing their respective profiles.
Manuel Torres AKA “El Loco”
El Loco is a Mexican MMA expert aged 30 and with a professional record of 15-3-0. He is one of the very few fighters who are good when it comes to knockouts and also good with submissions. This balanced skillset makes him one of the most complete fighters who can dominate fights both standing and on the ground.
Torres was on an impressive 4-win streak in UFC that lasted over 3 years until he lost by KO/KTO some 6 months ago against Ignacio Bahamondes. In that fight, a powerful righthand strike caught El Loco off guard and Ignacio followed with multiple left and right combos on the floor to terminate the fight. This so far remains his only loss by KO/KTO; his other 2 losses were conceded on submission.
To illustrate how complete a fighter El Loco is, notice that 7 of his 15 wins were obtained from KTO/KO, another 7 from submission, and 1 from split decision. Against a fighter like Drew Dober who equally possesses knockout abilities, I expect El Loco to try to take the fight to the ground.
Drew Dober – Battle for Consistency
Currently ranked #25 on the World Lightweight chart, Dober is a 36-year-old American Pro fighter with a record of 27-14-0. Out of his 27 wins, 11 (41%) were obtained via KO/KTO, 9(33%) via submission, and 7(26%) via split decision. Dober has been struggling to gain consistency, losing 3 of his last 4 professional bouts. He is on a 2-loss streak, after recording defeats against Renato Moicano and Jean Silva respectively. His last fight against Jean Silva was one he would certainly never want to remember. Silva completely dominated the bout and gave him a very nasty cut that left the doctor no other option than to stop the carnage in round 3. Against a fighter with a better reach like Dober, I expect Drew Dober to make lots of submission attempts because if the fight remains standing, Dober might have the upper hand.
Key Stats to Consider
| Weight | 70.8 kgs | |
| Height | ||
| Reach | 185cm | |
| Strike Accuracy | 55% | |
| Takedown Accuracy | 66% | |
| Submission Average | 1.1 | |
| Takedown Average | 2.26 | |
Path to Victory
If we look critically at the individual stats, we can be tricked into concluding that Manuel Torres is the better fighter. However, for betting, we need to consider several parameters, notably the bookie odds, as a way to know who they are backing for the fight. In this case, the odds offered by the bookie show a very close call; 1.943 for Drew Dober and 1.925 for Manuel Torres. This closeness in odds tells me there’s some information that the bookies are aware of that I don’t know yet, hence I will wait a little and monitor both fighters closely before bringing to you guys my final prediction.
Update
UFC fans worldwide and most especially those in Mexico are excited and geared up towards this upcoming fight. Some even consider it to be the UFC fight of the year as it promises to be very explosive. While the bookies are slightly tilted toward a win for Drew Dober, I’m backing Manuel Torres here for several reasons.
First, he is on a better streak compared to Drew Dober who has lost his last 2 fights. Secondly, he’s fighting at home, and the support from home-based fans can have a great impact. Thirdly, some key statistics give him as the favorite. These are striking accuracy (55% vs 40% for Dober), takedown accuracy (66% vs 17% for Dober), submission average (1.1 vs 0.1 for Dober), and takedown average (2.26 vs 0.67 for Dober). Lastly, age might also play out here! Torres is 7 years younger and possesses better cardio to last 3 rounds when compared to Dober. However, Dober holds a slight advantage in power, with 52% KO/KTO % vs. 47% for Torres.
For all these reasons, I strongly think El Loco will win. The bookie odds for this are around. Do you also want to be a winner? register for a VIP-IBC account today and thank me later.