TAMPA, Fla. – Dustin Jacoby’s right hand has earned him an extra $50,000 each year for the past three years.
Thanks to his punching prowess, Jacoby defeated Da Woon Jung in 2022 and secured a post-fight bonus. He finished Kennedy Nzechukwu in the first round in 2023, adding another $50K to his earnings. Most recently, Jacoby (20-9-1 MMA, 8-6-1 UFC) knocked out Vitor Petrino (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in the third round at UFC on ESPN 63.
This latest bonus, received at Amalie Arena in Tampa, was significant as it followed a two-fight losing streak against former light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes and Alonzo Menifield. The victory over Nzechukwu came after consecutive losses to Azamat Murzakanov and recent title challenger Khalil Rountree.
Despite some rare discontent from Tampa fans, who expressed displeasure with bouts of booing during Jacoby’s fight, a spectacular finish turned the tide. The highlight-reel knockout quelled the dissent in the arena.
“We put in a lot of work, and something we preached the whole time was patience,” Jacoby stated at his post-fight press conference. “I’m the type of fighter, I hate sitting back. I want to be exciting. I could hear the fans booing, but it was all part of the game plan. I loved how I fought that first round. My coaches loved how I fought that first round. And the second round was the same way. I was really trying to bait it out of him, trying to get him to throw hard and catch him.”
“After the second round, coach told me, ‘I love what you’re doing – just got to pick it up a little bit. Now we’ve got to pick it up. I can see it being 1-1, and you don’t want this going to the judges’ decision.’ So in the third round, I knew I just had to pull the trigger at some point. I was just waiting for that moment, and I found it perfectly. I couldn’t be happier.”
Ironically, a big win over Petrino reminds Jacoby of the matches he has lost recently that could have gone differently. In particular, his split decision loss to Rountree more than two years ago is still a sore spot.
Jacoby believes he won that fight, and had one more judge agreed with him, he would have maintained a 10-fight unbeaten streak, gone 6-0-1 in his second UFC stint, and potentially taken a different career path.
Rountree went on to win two more fights after defeating Jacoby, culminating in a title shot at UFC 307 against champion Alex Pereira. Had the fight with Rountree gone Jacoby’s way, he might have been the one facing Pereira. However, the prospect of a rematch now feels unnecessary, as Jacoby alone understands his performance in the octagon.
“It doesn’t really matter to me. At the end of day, I don’t really lose sleep over it,” Jacoby told MMA Junkie. “The Rountree fight, I’m still really, really, really bitter about that – and it’s nothing toward him. He’s a great fighter, great competitor, great warrior. It just took a lot of wind out of the sail. It ruined (and) killed a lot of momentum, and I just truly believe (I won that fight). I looked that guy in the eyes after the fight – we looked at each other. We both knew, and I was just shocked as could be when (he got the decision).”
“But that is more than two years ago, and I’ve just got to focus on what’s next. I’m the one that went through those fires. Everybody can talk from the outside, but I was the one inside the octagon. I know what I felt, and I know I’m one of the best with what I bring to the table.”
Check out Jacoby’s full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.
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