This past weekend, Dustin Jacoby scored a huge TKO victory over Darren Stewart. The win moved the former kickboxer’s record to 3-0-1 in his most recent stint with the UFC, and likely moved him ever so close to the light heavyweight top 15.
But with every impressive MMA run, there are detractors looking to point out flaws. The naysayers of Jacoby likely have little to say about his striking as he’s pieced up all of his opponents in that realm. However, according to Jacoby, you shouldn’t be looking to the ground to criticize his game either.
“I am a kickboxer and I do enjoy standing and trading on the feet, so a lot of my ground game gets overlooked,” Jacoby explained. “But we’re making improvements everyday in the gym.”
Training out of Factory X, there are no shortage of quality wrestlers for Jacoby to work with. However, one in particular is helping him make use of his unique frame to put together a well-balanced game.
“I got a great training partner in Cody Brundage – he’s an excellent wrestler,” he said. “And I’ve got really long arms and limbs, so I’ve been working a lot of head and arm chokes and things of that nature.”
And while he isn’t planning on shooting in the first 10 seconds of his next fight to let you know they exist, he does want the world to know that his submission skills are there.
“I haven’t been able to show them off that much in the cage because I do like standing and trading so much, but just know they’re there, man. I know they’re there,” Jacoby said. “I think they’re great tools to have in the toolbox and I’m constantly sharpening them.”
Coming out of Saturday’s contest relatively unscathed, Jacoby is pretty much heading right back into the gym to hone these skills further. Although he doesn’t have a name or a timeframe for when we might see him back in the cage, he does have something that he is looking for in his next tango.
“I accept any challenge that’s given to me, but I’m a kickboxer and fans love it when two people go toe-to-toe,” he said. “So, of course, I’d enjoy finding another striker, but everybody is a striker until they find me – then they turn into a wrestler.”
And when they come to wrestle, he’ll be ready.
You can catch the entire audio of this interview at 26:55.
