NEW YORK – Drew Dober knew what he was signing up for when he agreed to the UFC 334 offer.

It's a fight many hardcores have circled on their bout sheets. Dober (29-15 MMA, 15-11 UFC) takes on Chris Duncan (15-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) on the prelim card Saturday at Madison Square Garden (Paramount+) – and he's just as excited as the masses.

"It's a fun matchup," Dober told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. "Chris Duncan, his fights, he slings leather. He gets after it. Fight of the Nights. Performance of the Nights. He's super exciting, steps forward, and these are the type of matchups I absolutely love. I'm excited Saturday night to see how crazy this man is."

"... I think he's super skilled everywhere. He's a jack of all trades. He can strike. He can wrestle. He can do jiu-jitsu. He has things he gravitates toward. But I think his special power is his durability. He is just super tough. I can't fall in love with punching the guy because he's able to throw Hail Marys in fights and win in fights where he's not actually winning, and then all of a sudden (he does). Chris Duncan is a zombie, and he's hard to put away."

Dober, 38, enters the bout with the momentum of two straight wins. The past year has been quite the turnaround, as heading into October 2025, he had lost five of six.

"We're maturing," Dober said. "We're getting better. I'm like a fine wine fighter. It's only getting better. I'm always looking for the knockout. I love striking. I love putting my hands on people. If we went to a decision, Chris Duncan's chin might hold up. Who knows, but there's only one way to find out."

"... The three-fight losing streak, we were fighting some tough competition. I can't take anything away from them. But there was a very significant mental lapse that I was having, and it wasn't translating well inside the octagon. We had to audit and figure out mentally what I need to do differently. We gave it a shot and after two wins, two knockouts, we're on the same page now. Expect more."