By most standards, Drew Dober made a statement Saturday at UFC 246.

The Team Elevation lightweight entered his preliminary card bout with Nasrat Haqparast as nearly a 3-to-1 underdog average across major online sports books (per BestFightOdds), but none of that mattered in the end.

As the clock ticked past the one-minute mark of the opening round, Dober (22-9 MMA, 8-5 UFC) landed a massive overhand left that dropped Haqparast (11-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC).

As Tristar’s Haqparast struggled to regain his senses, Dober didn’t let him off the hook. Leaping into half guard, Dober landed a series of hard left hands – 11, to be exact. And as the 11th blow connected, referee Mark Smith stepped in to call off the contest at 1:10 of Round 1.

Check out Dober’s first-round UFC 246 knockout of Haqparast in the video clip below:

With the finish, Dober scores his second straight victory. The 31-year-old lightweight has won five out of his six most recent outings dating back to July 2017. His lone loss came at the hands of Beneil Dariush in March.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.