Light heavyweight action on the UFC Abu Dhabi preliminary card on Saturday saw Dustin Jacoby clash with promotional newcomer Muhammad Saidov.
Saidov was a perfect 9-0 to start the night, moving to the UFC from the well-known UAE Warriors promotion. He was getting a well-traveled veteran out of the gate, and proved he was up to the task.
The focus early on from both guys was to get their kickboxing going. With Jacoby being the more established kickboxer, it wasn’t a surprise that he was looking to set the tone. Saidov was mixing it up better, kicking the legs, going to the body, and being flashy with the wheel kicks. He also landed a big right hand instead of just focusing on his kicks. He was doing a better job of throwing his punches and kicks together while attacking from different angles. Near the end of the round, Saidov landed another wheel kick. Jacoby kept his composure but had trouble dealing with Saidov’s unpredictability throughout the round.
Round two started with both guys trading leg kicks. Saidov was the first to mix it up with the jab and a looping right hand. Soon after, he landed a nice three-punch combination. He followed it up with a spinning kick to the body and an inside leg kick. Jacoby badly needed to get something going but was at a big speed disadvantage. Everything Jacoby landed was either a leg kick or a jab, and it was all single strikes. Saidov was simply too fast and was mixing everything up beautifully while throwing from both stances.
With time ticking away in round two, Saidov didn’t let Jacoby survive. He landed a right hand that flowed into a left high kick, dropping Jacoby. Jacoby got back to his feet but was turtling up as Saidov unloaded with punches until the referee stepped in.
Official Result: Muhammad Said def. Dustin Jacoby via TKO (head kick and punches), Round 2, 4:49
