AJ Dobson discusses earning a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series
AJ Dobson came into his Dana White’s Contender Series fight in hopes of not only earning a contract, but getting the attention of the UFC’s middleweight division.
In the fourth episode of the fifth season of the show, Dobson fought in the featured bout against Hashem Arkhagha in a battle between two unbeaten fighters.
Prior to the fight, Arkhagha missed weight and Dobson didn’t want the fight in jeopardy. He didn’t care that Arkhagha came in three pounds over the middleweight limit, as he was confident that he was going to get the win regardless of his opponent having a weight advantage.
Turns out that Dobson was right as he let his hand fly right from the start of the fight and hurt Arkhagha on several occasions before finishing the fight by way of a rear naked choke in the final minute of the opening round.
Dobson’s submission victory was the only finish of the night and after an eye opening performance, Dobson didn’t only just get the attention of the middleweight division, but he got the attention of the UFC president Dana White, who gave Dobson a UFC contract.
Following his impressive performance, Dobson talked to MyMMANews about his win and earning a UFC contract. Aside from the fight, he also discussed training at Immortal MMA under UFC legend Matt Brown and UFC welterweight Mickey Gall. Dobson hinted at a fight on Jan. 22, but the fight has not been made official.
You can watch his full interview in the video above.
A full list of results from Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 5, Week 4 are listed below:
AJ Dobson defeated Hashem Arkhagha by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) – Round 1 (4:21)
Michael Morales defeated Nikolay Veretennikov by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Steven Nguyen defeated Theo Rlayange by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 30-26)
Kleydson Rodriguez defeated Santo Curatolo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Victor Martinez defeated Jacob Rosales by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Bold names received a UFC contract
