Dustin Jacoby Archives - Cageside Press

Dustin Jacoby Embraces Veteran Role, Earns Praise From Alex Pereira After UFC Vegas 113

Eddie Law — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 16:38:32 +0000

Veteran light heavyweight Dustin Jacoby didn’t just add another win to his resume at UFC Vegas 113, he offered a candid snapshot of a fighter redefining what success looks like late in a long career.

After earning his 18th UFC appearance against Julius Walker, the 37-year-old spoke less about victories or rankings and more about health, longevity, and the perspective gained from more than 50 professional fights across combat sports.

“I’m getting too old for this sh*t. I said it walking up here. That was my biggest thing before this fight. I was praying over and over again that I got out of there safely with no injuries,” Jacoby told Cageside Press among other reporters at his post-fight scrum.

“It’s been a long road. 53 pro fights between kickboxing and MMA, and one professional boxing match. I never used to think about that when I was younger. (Now) that’s the only thing that crosses my mind. The wins, the losses don’t matter. I just trust the preparation, I just pray I’m healthy getting out of there.”

Jacoby (22-9-1) made his 18th UFC appearance on Saturday when he shared the octagon with Walker. Now 37, Jacoby understands he is firmly viewed as a veteran in the light heavyweight division, a distinction that often places him squarely in the crosshairs of younger, hungry contenders.

“I’m here for it. I relish in the moment, but my like my coach always says, I am no stepping stone. They keep feeding me these young guys waiting for me to fall off the cliff and I just keep proving that I’m not going anywhere man. I’m going to keep doing this till the wheels fall off. Hopefully just finish this career strong and actually have something to show for it when I’m done,” he said.

Jacoby’s performance didn’t just catch the eyes of the fans. UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira took to Instagram to give his former Glory kickboxing opponent praise following the finish.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alex “Poatan” Pereira (@alexpoatanpereira)

“Incredible work, @thehanyakdj put some respect on his name and place him in the rankings! Nostalgia from the Glory days, would love to see him in the rankings to show the evolution that has occurred in a different Sport! Chama.”

Jacoby was absolutely touched by gesture, and

Jacoby also reflected on the respect he’s earned from peers who have shared the cage and ring with him over the years. That sense of mutual appreciation, he explained, carries added weight at this stage of his career, especially when it comes from fighters he admires.

“Man that means the world to me. I saw King Mo in the back before I went out. That’s another former opponent of mine, and I told him, ‘hey man whenever I fight, I fight for all of my past opponents.’,” he said.

“Every single one of them. I’ve always left a piece of myself in that octagon or in that ring. I take a piece of them as well. To hear that from a guy like Alex Pereira, man, that really makes me feel good. I’ve got nothing but respect for him. Somebody I really look up to. It’s been so cool watching him rise through the ranks and do his thing. To get that respect from him means the world to me.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Dustin Jacoby above.

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What’s Next: UFC Vegas 113 Winners

Mathis Desjardins — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:42:19 +0000

Our first Apex show of 2026 had some good offerings. UFC Vegas 113 gave us names like Dustin Jacoby, Farid Basharat and Michal Oleksiejczuk who added on to their win streaks, as well as a pair of important ranked matchups at the top of the card. Mario Bautista sent us home on a high note, putting on what might be his best UFC performance thus far. With the first Fight Night of 2026 behind us, let’s look at what’s next for Saturday’s winners.

Mario Bautista

He may not ever become a fan favourite, but Mario Bautista keeps proving he’s a world class fighter. While his previous eight-fight win streak started with four consecutive finishes, the back half was all decisions, including the infamous one against Jose Aldo. It was those decisions that left a sour taste in the fan base’s mouth. This methodical domination of Vinicius Oliveira, capped off by a second round stoppage is exactly what the doctor ordered for Bautista.

Everybody is foaming at the mouth at the idea of Sean O’Malley fighting Cory Sandhagen. After all, it is one of the very best non-title fights the UFC could book right now. However, I do believe the promotion will try to book O’Malley in a Petr Yan rematch, leaving Cory Sandhagen as the odd man out in this equation. That leaves the door open for another rematch, the one Bautista called for in his post-fight interview.

Bautista’s next fight: Cory Sandhagen

Kyoji Horiguchi

Poor guy Amir Albazi has had to endure two separate layoffs of over a year, with the bad Brandon Moreno loss sandwiched in between. And what does he get after overcoming those layoffs? A red hot, rejuvenated Kyoji Horiguchi.

The Japanese fighter made sure Albazi had nothing for him, having him beat everywhere. That’s two very convincing wins for Horiguchi since coming back to the UFC. Usually, he might be in line for a title shot, but the title picture at flyweight has been chaotic since Alexandre Pantoja injured his arm against Joshua Van. And with Manel Kape seemingly at the top of the contenders list, that unfortunately leaves Kyoji on the outside looking in. Taking all of this into account, I think a main event in Japan against Tatsuro Taira is the best way to go.

Horiguchi’s next fight: Tatsuro Taira

Rizvan Kuniev

I would bet a substantial amount of money that this fight will not win Fight of the Year, but Rizvan Kuniev got his first UFC victory and that’s all that matters to him. It’s not just any victory, it’s one that will put him inside the top10. The downside of the fight’s utter lack of drama and entertainment value is that the UFC will be in no rush to put Kuniev in a big fight despite the fact that he just defeated a top5 heavyweight. I think the winner of the upcoming Sergei Spivac/Ante Delija bout is the best he can hope for.

Kuniev’s next fight: Spivac/Delija winner

Michal Oleksiejczuk

It wasn’t that long ago that Michal Oleksiejczuk was staring down the barrel of a three-fight skid with, perhaps, his job on the line. He has since won three straight, with this Fight of the Night over Marc-André Barriault as his latest offering. It’s easy to forget how young he was when he first joined the UFC and after going through some ups and downs, maybe the now 30-year-old Oleksiejczuk is starting to put it all together. I think a fight against fellow middleweight riser Cam Rowston would be a good test for both fighters involved.

Oleksiejczuk’s next fight: Cam Rowston

Farid Basharat

After seeing his brother Javid get back in the win column on the prelims, Farid Basharat made sure that the duo would leave the Apex with two wins. Regardless of what you may think of his actual upside, Basharat has now won 6 UFC bouts while keeping his undefeated record intact. Hardcore fans will tell you how good Jean Matsumoto is despite being 1-2 in his last three outings. Beating him is no easy task and you can add him to the list of fighters who have failed to get hand raised against Basharat. He is long overdue for a shot at a ranked opponent and I think the man who lost in our main event makes a perfect sense as his next opponent.

Basharat’s next fight: Vinicius Oliveira

Dustin Jacoby

After getting knocked out by Dominick Reyes in June of 2024, it looked like Dustin Jacoby’s UFC career was nearing its end. But since then, he has since rattled off three straight KO victories, this latest one earning him a shoutout from his former Glory Kickboxing foe Alex Poatan Pereira. There is no doubt that Jacoby has fought his way back into ranked contention.

There is a card in Macau scheduled for late May. I think Zhang Mingyang versus Dustin Jacoby is a good fight to put on that main card.

Jacoby’s next fight: Zhang Mingyang

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Dustin Jacoby Puts Away Julius Walker to Open UFC Vegas 113 Main Card

Brett Cagle — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 01:35:17 +0000

Light heavyweights Dustin Jacoby and Julius Walker kicked off the UFC Vegas 113 main card on Saturday, the first main card of the first Fight Night of the UFC’s Paramount+ era.

Unfolding at the newly rechristened Meta Apex in Las Vegas, the card found Jacoby entering off back-to-back wins, while Walker had picked up his first victory inside the octagon last August, against Raffael Cerqueira.

This 205-pound matchup started cautiously with each fighter feeling each other out in the first minute of round one. The 37 year old Jacoby missed down the middle with a straight right hand, as Walker landed a low kick in return. Jacoby came crashing forward landing a solid left hook. Moments later Walker shot in for a takedown, as Jacoby threatened a front choke. Returning to his feet, Jacoby landed another left hand that got the attention of Walker. Shooting in for another takedown Walker secured this one and picked Jacoby up over his head, walking him around the cage before dumping him down. Now in the clinch against the fence, Jacoby ate a big knee from Walker and was being controlled in the second half of the round.

Walker looked to pressure early in round two, trying to back Jacoby to the fence. Jacoby landed a massive right hand that stumbled Walker forcing him to retreat. Another straight right hand sat Walker down as it looked like the referee was going to stop the fight. Walker tried to grab anything he could to survive but moments later a flurry of punches against the fence would stop the fight. The veteran Dustin Jacoby put together a massive win after battling through adversity in the grappling in round one. Jacoby has now won three fights in a row by knockout and positions himself for a big fight next.

In his post fight interview, Jacoby said “I not only would like to fight at the White House in front of president Trump, I’d like to play some golf with him”. Dustin also stated that fighting on the White House card would be an honor and something he deeply wants to do.

Official Result: Dustin Jacoby def. Julius Walker by TKO, Round 2, 1:42

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What’s Next: UFC Vegas 107 Winners

Mathis Desjardins — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 02:18:46 +0000

UFC Vegas 107 appeared to be another Apex show to get through before getting into the exciting summer schedule. But a couple weight misses, pullouts and a literal last-minute cancellation of the main event saw the card go from pedestrian to downright bad. Still, we saw some top ten names like Mateusz Gamrot and Ketlen Vieira earn victories, as well some nice highlights from Ramiz Brahimaj and Dustin Jacoby. Just like we do after every card, we now need to look ahead to what’s next for Saturday’s winners.

Mateusz Gamrot

The Polish fighter bounced back after dropping a razor close split decision to Dan Hooker last August. He dominated L’udovit Klein, who came into this fight on a four-fight win streak and unbeaten in his last seven, including wins over names like Ignacio Bahamondes and Thiago Moises. Klein also had a takedown defence over 90% before facing Gamrot, making the domination from “Gamer” all the more impressive.

I initially penciled Gamrot against the winner of the upcoming Bahamondes/Fiziev bout, but after hearing him voice his interest in fighting Benoit Saint Denis, I am sold. Gamrot will undoubtedly need to beat another contender ranked below him before even thinking of calling out a top five name. It’s also a perfect fight for a Paris Fight Night card, which seems to be a yearly occurrence now.

Gamrot’s next fight: Benoit Saint Denis

Ramiz Brahimaj

Ramiz Brahimaj scored what might be his best UFC win yet. Though his KO over Mickey Gall at Madison Square Garden in November was nice, he put Billy Ray Goff to sleep as a +300 betting underdog. This also marked the first time Brahimaj got back-to-back wins since his LFA days over 7 years ago. It will be interesting to see if, at 32, he can now get some momentum going in the UFC.

There are a lot of fighters in Brahimaj’s tier that could make sense. I thought about putting him up against the previous man to defeat Goff, Trey Waters, but ended up going with Muslim Salikhov.

Brahimaj’s next fight: Muslim Salikhov

Dustin Jacoby

Even though Jacoby got the only KO of the UFC Vegas 107 card, he left the Apex without a performance bonus. After getting stopped by Dominick Reyes almost a year ago, he has bounced back with consecutive knockout wins over prospects Vitor Petrino and now Bruno Lopes. Stopping two younger fighters back-to-back had the veteran saying he’s now looking to move on from his gatekeeper status. I’m not convinced this was enough to earn him another shot at the rankings; however, I do agree that he should face someone who is also in his position. A fighter just outside the top15 at light-heavyweight, who is also on a good run, is Modestas Bukauskas. Jacoby is now 37 and actually did get a taste of the rankings before falling out of them. On the Bukauskas side of things, he seemed to slowly be coming into his own, but his last win over Ion Cutelaba wasn’t convincing enough to get him a ranked opponent. That’s why Jacoby vs Bukauskas, with a shot at a top15 fighter on the line just makes sense.

Jacoby’s next fight: Modestas Bukauskas

Ketlen Vieira

This was a good and important win for Vieira, as Macy Chiasson was looking improved in her last two outings. However, after missing weight for UFC Vegas 107 and forcing the fight to go up a division, she will not be rewarded with a fight against someone ahead of her. She’s not getting Raquel Pennington or Julianna Peña if she loses at UFC 316. I thought about having her rematch Irene Aldana, but I think this division needs some fresh faces inside its top ten. The winner of Karol Rosa vs Nora Cornolle or the winner of Mayra Bueno Silva vs Joselyne Edwards could produce a new top ten contender. Either of those are fine options, but I prefer the idea of Cornolle getting this opportunity if she’s victorious against the Brazilian Rosa, seeing as the UFC keeps attempting to grow its presence in France.

Vieira’s next fight: Rose/Cornolle winner

Zachary Reese

Coming into this UFC Vegas 107 main card opening fight, Dusko Todorovic was sporting a 2-5 UFC record, with four of those losses coming via strikes in the very first round. On the other side, Reese had earned seven of his first eight professional wins by 1^st round finish. Considering these statistics, it wasn’t shocking to see Reese get his hand raised, but it was quite surprising to see it go the distance.

So despite successfully bouncing back from his loss in January, I doubt Reese will get anything resembling a marquee matchup following this rather uninspired performance. There are several names that the American could face next, but I went with Dustin Stoltzfus. A flawed fighter, but one who makes it a point to live and die by the sword.

Reese’s next fight: Dustin Stoltzfus

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UFC Vegas 107: Dustin Jacoby Makes Short Work of Bruno Lopes

Brett Cagle — Sun, 01 Jun 2025 02:35:52 +0000

Dustin Jacoby squared off against Bruno Lopes on the main card of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 107, in a light heavyweight contest.

Jacoby, a.k.a. “The Hanyak” (stemming from a Polish term to describe rebellious, aggressive soldiers), entered off a win over Vitor Petrino, while Lopes had won three straight dating back to his LFA days including a Contender Series fight and his UFC debut.

In the opening moments Lopes pressed Jacoby back to the cage forcing the former Glory Kickboxer to fight of the back foot. Moments later Lopes walked into a left jab that put him on wobbly legs. Jacoby pounced on the staggered Lopes who ate multiple punches against the cage. Lopes showing a good chin ate shot after shot until a sharp right hand from Jacoby dropped the Brazilian fighter to the canvas.

A statement victory for Jacoby whose won by highlight reel knockout in his last two fights. Jacoby will be moving up the division rankings come next week and has an opportunity to go one another title run. Earning this victory in under two minutes, Dustin Jacoby looks in top form and as good as we have seen him in his UFC career.

Official Result: Dustin Jacoby def. Bruno Lopes by KO, Round 1, 1:50

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What’s Next: UFC Tampa Winners

Mathis Desjardins — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 01:26:55 +0000

The UFC closed out their 2024 calendar with a bang. The promotion’s fourth-ever trip to Tampa, Florida delivered an entertaining event with seven knockouts, six decisions and a whole bunch of highlights. As we look forward to 2025, let’s see what matchups should be next for the winners from UFC Tampa this past Saturday.

Joaquin Buckley

This was by far the biggest fight of Buckley’s career thus far, and the lights weren’t too bright for him. In his first ever main event, “New Mansa” extended his win streak to six with a third-round doctor’s stoppage over Colby Covington. This win should push him near, or maybe even inside the top5 in the next rankings update.

In his post-fight interview, Buckley called out three names and let the audience decide his next opponent via an “applause-o-meter.” Of the three names he called out, champion Belal Muhammad makes the least amount of sense unless Shavkat Rakhmonov is out for a prolonged period. The other two were former champions Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman. Edwards, who is said to headline the London Fight Night card on March 22, needs an opponent. Buckley has been active and wants it to remain that way, so a turnaround in late March shouldn’t be too quick for him, considering he took a negligible amount of damage from Covington.

Buckley’s next fight: Leon Edwards

Cub Swanson

“Killer” Cub’s stunning one hitter quitter KO over Billy Quarantillo in the UFC Tampa co-main was reminiscent of Robbie Lawler’s KO of Niko Price in his retirement fight. It has to be one of the better ways a fighter can dream to retire… if he does retire. The long-time veteran and fan-favourite Swanson has been hinting at an imminent retirement for his last few fights but seemed reluctant to fully commit to it. This Saturday was no different as he refused to take off his gloves and make it official.

If he does have one more in him, there is an age-appropriate matchup out there for him. Swanson has called for a fight with Urijah Faber in the past and Faber seemed up for it. He may be 45 and without a fight booked since 2019, but Faber has been staying in shape with some grappling matches here and there, including two this year. Plus, the UFC still has him listed as an “active” fighter on their roster.

Let the man with the “SoCal” tattoo on his chest fight “The California Kid” and let’s do it in California.

Swanson’s next fight: Urijah Faber

Manel Kape

“Starboy” lived up to his nickname and put on his best performance yet in the UFC on Saturday. He styled on Bruno Silva for two rounds before putting him away in the third despite taking multiple low blows. He then called for a title shot, hoping this performance would launch to the top of queue. With the blurry title picture at flyweight, he’s probably just one more fight away from it.

However, he’s still just one fight removed from the very disappointing Muhammad Mokaev bout. Also, with Deiveison Figueiredo now looking to throw his name into the hat, 125 might have more options than we thought.

Kai Kara-France is also right there with Kape as contenders next line. They were once booked against each other, there is bad blood, and the fight now makes more sense than ever. Let them go at it to determine which of the two really deserve their crack at the title.

Kape’s next fight: Kai Kara-France

Dustin Jacoby

In a fight that had the fans booing due to its lack of action, Dustin Jacoby put Vitor Petrino out cold at UFC Tampa with a right hand very similar to the one Kamaru Usman slept Jorge Masvidal with. This type of win was just what the doctor ordered for Jacoby who had lost his previous two fights and came into this one 1-4 in his last 5.

In terms of rankings and meritocracy, the winner of Ion Cutelaba and Ibo Aslan in Seattle makes a lot of sense. Selfishly, I’d like to see Jacoby face Artem Vakhitov. Both are former Glory kickboxers but have never faced each other. Vakhitov is most known for being the last person to defeat Alex Pereira in kickboxing. If the UFC is looking to replicate the storyline that they created between Pereira and Israel Adesanya, giving Vakhitov a debut against a kickboxer right outside the rankings might not be a bad idea.

Jacoby’s next fight: Artem Vakhitov

Daniel Marcos

Despite Marcos’ four UFC wins, a split decision over Adrian Yanez at UFC Tampa might not be enough to get him a ranked opponent due to how stacked with talent the division is. The undefeated Marcos turns 32 in March and I consider Yanez a quality win, so I’m willing to throw him against ranked opposition.

Kyler Phillips hit a roadblock against Rob Font this past October, so it would make sense for him to face someone outside the rankings. Thus, Marcos is a sensible opponent and the matchup itself should make an entertaining fight.

Marcos’ next fight: Kyler Phillips

Navajo Stirling

Navajo Stirling closed as a near 10-to-1 betting favourite and while he did show some promise, he also showed he is still very green. At 6-0 and after just turning 27 in November, there is a case to be made that he maybe shouldn’t be in the UFC this early into his career. Though, being this young at light-heavyweight isn’t the end the world since heavier weight classes tend to age slowly. The promotion should be in no hurry to push him up the ladder.

With Stirling firmly in the UFC, he should be matchmade for as if he were still on the regional scene. When Carlos Ulberg, another City Kickboxing product, lost his debut, the UFC spent his next five fights matching him up against the lower tier of the division. Tuco Tokkos was a perfect opponent for his debut, and Ozzy Diaz is exactly the type of opponent Stirling should get next.

Stirling’s next fight: Ozzy Diaz

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UFC Tampa: Dustin Jacoby Never Worried About Future Despite Recent Slump

Jay Anderson — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 23:59:42 +0000

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.

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Cub Swanson, Michael Johnson Among UFC Tampa Bonus-Winners

Jay Anderson — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 07:33:23 +0000

With the final UFC event of 2024 in the books, four final stars have picked up $50,000 post-fight bonuses at UFC Tampa.

The event at the Amalie Arena on Saturday produced plenty of explosive finishes, with several fighters turning back the clock. Among them, co-main event featherweight “Killer” Cub Swanson, who landed a punishing 1-2 combo on the considerably younger Billy Quarantillo. At age 41, Swanson proved he still has a few tricks up his sleeve and gas in the tank. It may still be the final time fans see Swanson compete, however: the former WEC star admitted after the bout that he had told his wife it “might” be his last one.

Swanson was non-committal backstage, and did not leave his gloves in the octagon. If it does turn out to be his last hurrah, he certainly went out on a high note.

For the win, and thrilling contest before the finish, Swanson along with Quarantillo earned Fight of the Night honors.

At 38, Michael Johnson is no spring chicken either. Like Swanson, however, he defied father time on Saturday, landing a blistering knockout on Ottman Azaitar to claim a Performance of the Night bonus.

The other Performance of the Night at UFC Tampa was awarded to Dustin Jacoby, who snapped a two-fight skid by starching fearsome light heavyweight Vitor Petrino.

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Dustin Jacoby Sleeps Petrino With Nuclear Right Hand

Brett Cagle — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 04:52:54 +0000

Light heavyweights Vitor Petrino and Dustin Jacoby were both looking to return to the win column at UFC Tampa on Saturday.

The main card fight had a very different feel when it came to Jacoby, however. While Petrino was coming off the first loss of his career (a submission at the hands of Anthony Smith), Jacoby had lost two straight, and four of his last five.

Jacoby circled away from the powerful Petrino early in the first using a jab to gauge distance and stay on the outside. Petrino pressed forward throwing powerful hooks with bad intentions. Midway through the round Petrino attempted a takedown but Jacoby was able to successfully defend. The opening five minutes were hard to score with Petrino loading up on big shots, while Jacoby was content to stay on the outside an utilize his jab and low leg kicks at range.

The second round started with Petrino backing Jacoby up to the fence unloading big right hands. Jacoby was able to defend well and circle back to the center of the cage. The nose of Jacoby was noticeably leaking blood around the three minute mark in the round. Petrino landed a lead left hook followed by a damaging straight right hand that got the attention of Jacoby. Petrino attempted a superman punch near the end of the round, with each fighter landing 23 strikes through the first ten minutes.

The crowd in Tampa was not impressed with what they were seeing however, as boo’s rung down after the second round bell. In the third Petrino landed a nice leg kick to start then attempted a takedown but was unsuccessful. Jacoby seemed to be hesitating at times with ringside commentator and coach Din Thomas stating “He’s having a hard time pulling the trigger”. Petrino secured a body lock and dragged Jacoby to the ground momentarily. Then out of nowhere Jacoby landed a beautiful straight right hand that floored Petrino knocking him unconscious. After a largely uneventful fight, Jacoby electrified the Tampa crowd bringing them back to life with a highlight reel knockout.

This was a massive win for Jacoby who had lost four of his last five coming into this contest. Jacoby then ran over to Dana White and asked for a performance bonus following his incredible knockout.

Official Result: Dustin Jacoby def. Vitor Petrino via R3 KO, 3:44

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Vitor Petrino Says Loss To Smith In Brazil Was “Bad day at work.”

Eddie Law — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 02:39:20 +0000

Tampa – UFC light heavyweight Vitor Petrino looks to bounce back from that first loss of his career when he faces Dustin Jacoby at UFC Tampa on Saturday night.

Petrino (11-1) lost his last outing against Anthony Smith at UFC 301 in May. To make matter worse he lost via submission which, for a Brazilian fighter, adds insult to injury.

“I think it’s part of the game. I think it’s an opportunity for you to learn and to understand things that need to improve. I learned that I need to respect my body a little more and other things,” Petrino told reporters through a translator on Wednesday.

“Win or loss I always try to improve.”

The part that makes the loss sting that much more is that it happened in Brazil.

“Losing in Brazil carries some weight, but again it’s part of the game. It was just a bad day at work. As I said sh*t happens and sometimes you just have to turn things around and move on forward and just get prepared for the next fight,” he said.

At UFC Tampa he faces Jacoby who could very possibly be in a win-or-go-home scenario as he brings a 1-4 record in his last five fights. Jacoby is also notably close with Smith which could add something more to the fight.

“It just adds to the flavor and the taste of victory will be better if I win,” he said.

“Another opportunity to face their team. A guy who trains with Anthony. You’re here to face the best in the world.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Vitor Petrino above. He faces Dustin Jacoby at UFC Tampa on Saturday night.

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