Tampa — Light heavyweight Dustin Jacoby had a boot on his foot and a noticeable limp when arriving backstage at the Amalie Arena following his fight with Vitor Petrino at UFC Tampa on Saturday, but according to “The Hanyak,” it’s nothing serious.
“I caught a hard calf kick on his knee, it swelled up on the top but it’s not broken or anything. It’s just a little bit of support,” Jacoby (20-9-1) told Cageside Press and other media outlets following his knockout of Petrino. “I still plan on playing golf tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday. I don’t know if I can drive and really dig into one, but I’ll be in the cart, talking sh*t, chipping and putting, drinking, so looking forward to that.”
Coming into the showdown with Petrino, who still had considerable hype despite a loss to Anthony Smith, Jacoby was on a two-fight skid, and 1-4 across his last five. That might get some fighters thinking about their future, especially at age 36 and on their second run with the UFC — exactly where Jacoby finds himself.
Yet according to Jacoby, he never had any doubts. “Never, man. I was just talking with coach about it,” he stated.
“I’m the one going through the fire. I know I was 1-4 going into this fight in my last five, but those were all tough fights. The [Khalil] Rountree fight I thought I won, the [Azamat] Murzakanov fight, I finished super-strong. The [Alonzo] Menifield fight, f*ck me man, I had that fight won. Again if I had been patient, I would have won that fight. I was searching, searching, I hate being the guy sitting back. If I would have sat back and been more patient, I win that fight 10 out of 10 times.”
“The last fight, Dominick Reyes, he’s the only guy to put me away in dominant fashion. He just caught me with one hell of a left hand,” continued Jacoby. “I was going for a big knockout, I was really wanting to knock him out. I thought that man, if I can just put my hands on him, he’s going to go down. And I got a little greedy and he got me with a perfect shot that could have knocked out anybody in the division.”
“To be honest, never once did I think about getting cut, never once was I worried about my position. I know what I bring to the table, I know the wars I’ve been in and my level of experience and what I bring.”
Instead of concerning himself about his future in the promotion, or where he might go with a cut — PFL, ONE Championship, another run in kickboxing — Jacoby was focused on the result. “Never once was I thinking, worrying about winning or losing. I was just worried about going out there, being where my feet were, being patient, sticking to the game plan— I knew good things would happen.”
Turns out he was right, with his knockout of Petrino earning a Performance of the Night bonus at UFC Tampa.
Watch the full UFC Tampa post-fight press conference with Dustin Jacoby above.
