Las Vegas, NV — Light heavyweight Alonzo Menifield came into UFC 296 with a rolled ankle and other issues he had to overcome. But, as he explained post-fight, “I knew I had the power to put him down.”
“Him” in this case was Dustin Jacoby, who Menifield was aware had a background in kickboxing. And after earning a three-round unanimous decision, Menifield was beaming, even without a finish. The fight going the distance was a testament to Jacoby’s toughness, not to mention Menifield’s own, as he was wearing damage after as well.
“Sh*t man, that was a great fight,” Menifield stated, later admitting that “I was on edge, just going into the fight.”
What had him on edge, he told Cageside Press, was knowing that he couldn’t make any mistakes against a dangerous opponent.
“No mistakes, no big, big mistakes or he would definitely shut it out. Approaching the fight, I knew I can’t have him zap me too much. And ultimately I’ve got the land the power somewhere. And it worked.”
Addressing the decision, Menifield added that “he hit me f*cking hard, let me not get that wrong. As far as the decision, I feel like it was split, but given the whole nature of the fight, it was a doozy.”
That’s plenty generous of Alonzo Menifield, who actually took home a unanimous decision win in the end. As for when he wants to return to action, despite clearly needing to heal up, the 205’er stated “whenever, man. I’m just going to rest up, get back to work, train, and keep at it.”
Watch the full UFC 296 post-fight press conference with Alonzo Menifield above.
