Light heavyweight Dustin Jacoby returns to action in the featured prelim at UFC 296 on Saturday, in a fight with #14-ranked Alonzo Menifield.
In his last outing, Jacoby (19-7-1) put away Kennedy Nzechukwu, picking up a Performance of the Night bonus in the process. That bonus helped pay for a trip to Hawaii with his wife, but the performance itself also underscored what Dustin Jacoby is capable of.
“I tell you what, I was completely in the zone when it came to that last fight,” Jacoby told The Top Turtle MMA Podcast on Cageside Press recently. “I told my coach right afterwards, I said ‘man if we could get my mental state in that capacity before every single fight, I could be champion of the world.’ There’s no doubt in my mind.”
Jacoby cites a strong training camp that saw him “relinquish the result” and focus on working hard, rather than the outcome, with his success last time out. “It was a great night, it was a great way to finish the summer. I really didn’t plan on fighting again this year, I was looking at early next year, but they came with this opportunity, UFC 296, Pay-Per-View card, ranked opponent. I couldn’t say no.”
As an added bonus, teammate Brandon Royval will be fighting for gold at UFC 296. With that in mind, Jacoby figured he might as well be one of the fighters in the arena as well. Having nothing but praise for Royval, Jacoby added that “I can’t wait to go out there and compete with my teammate, and we’re both going to get our hand raised, no doubt about it.”
For Dustin Jacoby, it will be Alonzo Menifield looking to spoil things at UFC 296. It wasn’t the name originally sought out by Jacoby, but one he is happy with nonetheless.
“When they came with that name, I was calling for Ryan Spann. And I think they asked Ryan Spann if he would like to fight, and he said he didn’t want to fight until next year.” The UFC then came back and offered Menifield. “It’s a guy that I’ve watched fight in the past, and I remember every time I’ve watched him fight just thinking to myself ‘man I can beat that guy.’ That’s where we were, I was about 10 weeks out, and again, I was already going to be there. I was going to be there in support of Brandon.
“So when I got his approval, I was like ‘man I love the name, I love the match-up, I love the fact that he’s ranked above me.’ This is the first time I get to go take somebody’s ranking from them,” Jacoby continued. “Since I got into the top 15, I’ve always had to defend my spot, I’ve always had to defend my ranking. Now I get the opportunity to go out there and climb the ladder and beat somebody that’s in front of me.”
Dustin Jacoby faces Alonzo Menifield in the featured preliminary card fight at UFC 296 on Saturday, December 16, 2023.
