TAMPA, Fla. – Dustin Jacoby’s proper hand has made him an additional $50,000 a 12 months every of the previous three years.
Due to that fist, Jacoby put away Da Woon Jung in 2022 and picked up a post-fight bonus. He took out Kennedy Nzechukwu within the first spherical in 2023 for one more $50K. And this previous Saturday, Jacoby (20-9-1 MMA, 8-6-1 UFC) knocked out Vitor Petrino (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) within the third spherical at UFC on ESPN 63.
This time, the bonus that got here at Amalie Enviornment in Tampa, Fla., was of main significance as a result of it got here on the heels of a two-fight skid to former mild heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes and Alonzo Menifield. The win over Nzechukwu got here after back-to-back losses to Azamat Murzakanov and up to date title challenger Khalil Rountree.
The bonus Jacoby picked up this time was within the wake of some uncommon displeasure from the Tampa followers, who had been susceptible to matches of booing throughout Jacoby’s battle – together with a hardcore spherical of panning of the battle simply earlier than Jacoby’s highlight-reel end.
“We put in lots of work, and one thing we preached the entire time was endurance,” Jacoby stated throughout his post-fight information convention. “I’m the kind of fighter, I hate sitting again. I need to be thrilling. I might hear the followers booing, but it surely was all a part of the sport plan. I beloved how I fought that first (spherical). My coaches beloved how I fought that first spherical. And the second spherical was the identical means. I used to be actually making an attempt to bait it out of him, making an attempt to get him to throw laborious and catch him.
“After the second spherical, coach informed me, ‘I really like what you’re doing – simply obtained to select it up slightly bit. Now we’ve obtained to select it up. I can see it being 1-1, and also you don’t need this going to the judges’ determination.’ So within the third spherical, I knew I simply needed to pull the set off in some unspecified time in the future. I used to be simply ready for that second, and I discovered it completely. I couldn’t be happier.”
Sadly for Jacoby, one thing large like a win over Petrino additionally offers a reminder of the varieties of fights he’s misplaced lately that would simply have gone the opposite means. Specifically, his break up determination loss to Rountree slightly greater than two years in the past is one that also stings.
Jacoby thinks he received that battle, and had yet one more decide agreed on yet one more spherical, he would’ve had a 10-fight unbeaten streak, would’ve been 6-0-1 in his second UFC stint, and who is aware of – he may’ve been on a distinct path.
Rountree received two extra fights after he beat Jacoby and obtained a title shot at UFC 307 in opposition to champ Alex Pereira. Might Jacoby have been there, as an alternative, if that battle had gone his means? Possibly. However even a rematch at this level looks like an train in futility since at the very least Jacoby is aware of what he felt within the cage.
“It doesn’t actually matter to me. On the finish of day, I don’t actually lose sleep over it,” Jacoby informed MMA Junkie. “The Rountree battle, I’m nonetheless actually, actually, actually bitter about that – and it’s nothing towards him. He’s an ideal fighter, nice competitor, nice warrior. It simply took lots of wind out of the sail. It ruined (and) killed lots of momentum, and I simply really imagine (I received that battle). I regarded that man within the eyes after the battle – we checked out one another. We each knew, and I used to be simply shocked as could possibly be when (he obtained the choice).
“However that’s greater than two years in the past, and I’ve simply obtained to deal with what’s subsequent. I’m the one which went via these fires. Everyone can discuss from the surface, however I used to be the one contained in the octagon. I do know what I felt, and I do know I’m top-of-the-line with what I carry to the desk.”
Try Jacoby’s full post-fight interview above.
Gallery
Dustin Jacoby def. Vitor Petrino at UFC Tampa: Finest images
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