Did Drew Dober married his opponent's sister after meeting her in afterparty following loss?
Lightweight fighter Drew Dober was once married to Gloria Hein, the sister of his UFC Fight Night 41 opponent, Nick Hein.
The pair's unique meet-cute took place in 2014 in Berlin, Germany, after Dober was invited by his opponent to attend his after-party. Despite losing the three-round war to Hein, the American accepted the invitation and made it to his foe's victory celebrations, where he came across Hein's sister.
In a statement given to the UFC, Dober explained that the duo quickly warmed up to each other after meeting at the party. He said:
"I talked to Nick’s sister, we exchanged contacts, and yeah, she is just a fantastic person. We stayed in contact, and then it just happened as it happened. We met in New York and then went to Denver, where I’m living right now, and [last] December, I visited her in Germany."
A few months after the meeting, the couple tied the knot, turning his once rival Hein to family.
The relationship, however, did not last, and the couple has since separated. Dober is currently married to Hollis Casey, with whom he shares a child.
The 35-year-old is 27-13, 1NC with one no-contest in MMA, and is scheduled to face Jean Silva at this weekend's UFC Denver event.
Despite the in-cage rivalry, Drew Dober and Gloria had Nick Hein's blessings
Nick Hein handed a unanimous decision to Drew Dober in their 2014 fight while bloodying the latter's face in the process. While the duo did not held back in their competitive rivalry inside the UFC octagon, their relationship outside the cage was a completely different story.
According to reports, Dober and Hein were on good terms after everything was said and done inside the octagon. It was reported that following his win over former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner in December 2014, Dober went to celebrate Christmas with Hein's family in Cologne, implying that Hein had approved Gloria and Dober's relationship. Some sources also quoted Dober saying that he exchanged Christmas presents with Hein:
“He gave me some Lederhosen underwear and I gave him a book, With lots of pictures.” [H/T Bloody Elbow]