Written by: Ryan Jarrell

‘The Hanyak’ plans to stop another prospect and start another title run

Dustin Jacoby has been a fixture in the fight game for a very long time now. After initiallygaining fame when he first competed in the UFC back in 2011, ’The Hanyak’ then spent timeas a professional kickboxer for Glory Kickboxing where he fought the likes Alex Pereira and others. Staying on the grind comes naturally to the Factory X star. Now, at 37 years of age,Jacoby looks to make another run up the top 15 of the Light Heavyweight division.

In December of last year at UFC Tampa, Jacoby landed a memorable knockout of top prospect Vitor Petrino. A KO that firmly planted Jacoby back in the mix at 205, and helped rejuvenate his confidence. DJ now has another young hungry lion in Bruno Lopes that he hopes to put away and re-enter the top 15 of the division that he has been a mainstay in for quite some time.

This crucial 205 LB bout takes place at the UFC Apex on May 31st, and Jacoby is dialed in and ready to make another huge statement. “The guy is (14-1) so I am not overlooking him, I think he is very skilled. I was expecting someone ranked a little higher but at the same time the LHW division is one of the lowest as far as numbers go, there is not a lot of guys in the division. He is up and coming, let’s test him and see if he is ready for the top tier of division”. DJ is known for his elite level striking, and his next opponent is a high level grappler. It might be easy to believe that this fight could be your typical ‘striker vs grappler’ matchup. We questioned Jacoby on the importance of maintaining the center of the cage to keep the fight where it best suits him to get his hand raised. “We are at the Apex so it is a much smaller cage.

But it is my job to go in there and set the tone early and let him know he is in a fight. That’s what I did well with Vitor Petrino. The guy was 10 years younger than me and the first time he tried to take me down I reversed it perfectly and hit him with a few strikes that set the tone for the whole fight and that’s exactly what I have to do with this guy.

https://youtu.be/7svjZBIiPjs?si=9TkKXNCrbaSuFU5a
Jacoby has competed 15 times under the UFC banner, notching a record of (8-6-1) along the way and a (20-9-1) record overall. Thirteen of those victories have come by KO/TKO, and that is exactly what he expects to happen at UFC Vegas 107. “I am clipping him and getting him out of there. I think that I get it done and that I set the tone early and I finish him quick”.

With time of the essence, we asked DJ if he gets this next victory and is healthy, when he would want to climb back in the octagon later in 2025. “This is the third fight on this contract so it is an important one. I need to go out there and put on a good performance, get a big win and sign a new contract with the UFC, and of course stay busy. I am thinking Madison Square Garden in November, I think that would be perfect”.

Tune in to ESPN Plus on May 31st to watch ‘The Hanyak’ take on Bruno Lopes in a highly anticipated light heavyweight showdown.