Jean Silva opens nasty gash on Drew Dober for short notice TKO

Jean Silva bravely stepped into enemy territory on short notice to face the always-dangerous Drew Dober, securing his second win in just two weeks.

At UFC on ESPN 59 at Ball Arena in Denver, Silva (14-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) not only filled in for the injured Mike Davis but also moved up a weight class to take on Dober (27-14 MMA, 13-10 UFC) in the lightweight division. The fight was a thrilling battle that ended in Round 3 at 1:28 due to a severe cut over Dober’s right eye.

From the start, it was clear that the judges’ scorecards would not be necessary. Both Dober and Silva wasted no time in exchanging hard hits as the first round progressed. The fight-ending cut on Dober was opened during one of their intense exchanges.

In Round 2, the striking continued at a relentless pace with Dober pushing forward. Just before the round ended, Silva landed a brutal spinning back elbow on Dober, shaking him up significantly.

The ringside doctor inspected Dober’s cut between rounds, but the fight continued as he was allowed to go on.

Silva continued to dominate in the final round, causing Dober’s cut to worsen, prompting referee Herb Dean to step in. After another check by the doctor, the fight was stopped.

Nothing but respect between these two🥹#UFCDenver pic.twitter.com/YryflN84iA

— UFC (@ufc) July 14, 2024

Just two weeks prior, Silva had competed at UFC 303, defeating Charles Jordain in a featherweight bout via second-round knockout. However, his victory was overshadowed by missing weight by 1.5 pounds.

Dober was unable to bounce back from his previous loss, falling to Renato Moicano in a unanimous decision in February.

The updated UFC on ESPN 59 results are as follows:

• Jean Silva def. Drew Dober via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 3, 1:28
• Gabriel Bonfim def. Ange Loosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Julian Erosa def. Christian Rodriguez via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:49
• Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage ruled no contest (accidental illegal strikes) – Round 1, 0:37
• Charles Johnson def. Joshua Van via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 0:20
• Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Fatima Kline via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Montel Jackson def. Da’Mon Blackshear via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:18
• Luana Santos def. Mariya Agapova via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:27
• Andre Petroski def. Josh Fremd via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Evan Elder def. Darrius Flowers via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:46

For more details on the event, check out MMA Junkie’s hub for UFC on ESPN 59.