by Franklin Shay

When you think of Nebraska you probably won’t think of Muay Thai. You might come up with things such as Corn, Nebraska football, Warren Buffet, but definitely not Muay Thai. When it comes to martial arts the Midwest is best known for MMA and Muay Thai to many is an afterthought. Despite MMA being the main focus of combat sports in Nebraska there is a small, but strong Muay Thai community. The Midwest in general is known for MMA and wrestling, but those select few that find Muay Thai as their primary passion are like unpolished diamonds. They work and train hard picking up fights when they can on MMA events and the occasional Muay Thai event. They continue to wait for their opportunity to shine on a bigger Muay Thai stage whether it be California, Nevada, or New York.

Drew Dober was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska and has been training Muay Thai since he was thirteen. Despite Muay Thai being his passion most of his professional combat sports career has been in MMA. He takes the occasional Muay Thai fight whenever they become available.

“I’ve always preferred Muay Thai and striking over jiu jitsu and ground fighting and every chance I got I would try to take kickboxing and Muay Thai fights in between my MMA fights” Dober said. “But in the Midwest Muay Thai fights are hard to find.”

With Muay Thai being limited in the area, the main focus of most competitors of this kind is MMA and wrestling. Dober has excelled in these as well. He wrestled in high school and has implemented the work ethic he acquired from his wrestling days into his Muay Thai training. He has complied an MMA record of 6-3 while using Muay Thai as the base of his fighting style. His wrestling ability is key in helping keep the fights standing so that he can implement his Muay Thai.

“I joined my high school wrestling team so I had the ability to stay on my feet” said Dober.

Some might be thinking if he would love to focus on Muay Thai why not relocate to one of the areas such as California, Nevada, or New York where Muay Thai events occur consistently. The camaraderie of Mid American Marital Arts is the reason why. Dober would welcome the opportunity to fight in other locations outside of Nebraska, but he feels with the team and trainers he has at Mid America Martial Arts, he has all of the tools to one day be a world champion — relocating is not on his mind.

Culture and passion are the reasons that Dober is drawn more to Muay Thai than the uber-popular world of MMA. Despite having more opportunities to compete in MMA, he strongly believes that Muay Thai will win him his fights.

“I believe that Muay Thai and even traditional Muay Thai can and will win me fights in both the ring and in the cage.” said Dober. “I learn boxing and wrestling with my Muay Thai to help me out in MMA, but I feel Muay Thai’s clinch work, kicking and kneeing techniques has set me up for so much success in the cage.”

Dober is unfortunately at a geographical disadvantage when it comes to Muay Thai due to the fact that MMA reigns supreme in Nebraska and the Midwest when it comes to professional fight competition. Despite this, Dober remains a Muay Thai purist at heart and hopefully he will receive the opportunity to put the traditions he loves about Muay Thai into action soon enough on a consistent basis in Muay Thai competition.