With a seriously rough stretch in the rearview mirror thanks to back-to-back knockouts, Dustin Jacoby still harbors title aspirations.
But if the 37-year-old light heavyweight can get back to the cusp of contention the way he was just a few years ago, it’ll take a little bit more than it did back then, he thinks. And that’s because Jacoby, to little surprise given his profession, is starting to feel the wear and tear.
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Jacoby looks at UFC Hall of Famers like Mark Coleman, Mark Kerr or Don Frye and sees their physical struggles thanks to the damage they did to their bodies while fighting. And he knows the time is coming when he’ll have to pay the piper, as well.
“I do see those guys, those older guys, and the cricks in their neck, and they’re moving all slow,” Jacoby told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’ll tell you right now: I’m doomed. I am screwed for the long run.
“I’ve done a lot of damage to my body, but that’s why I do this now. I’ve been smarter about the recovery, pretty much the past five years. I’ve been really on top of the recovery, and it helps big-time.”
Jacoby is in his second stint in the UFC. After two losses early in his career, he largely concentrated on kickboxing. But in 2020, he got back in the UFC through DWCS and went 6-0-1 before he lost to eventual title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. βΒ but only by a split call.
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That setback started a stretch of four losses in five fights. It put Jacoby well back in the pack of the crowded light heavyweight division. But a year ago, he knocked out Vitor Petrino for a $50,000 bonus as a major underdog, and in May he stayed off the schneid with a first-round finish of Bruno Lopes.
Jacoby (21-9-1 MMA, 9-6-1 UFC) has his next assignment set for UFC 325 (Paramount+) in Sydney, which will be the UFC’s second event of 2026. He’ll take on Australia’s own Jimmy Crute (14-4-2 MMA, 6-4-2 UFC) in hostile territory.
One of the ways he hopes things stay working for him is in the training room β where he said the rigors of the sport heretofore are what are helping him pump the brakes just a little bit βΒ but not on fight night.
“I certainly think about that (the grind),” Jacoby said. “I tell people all the time: ‘It’s a tough way to make an easy living.’ There’s no doubt about it. This is my 16th year professionally. I haven’t slowed inside the octagon at all. I’m still as fast as ever. I’m still electric in there. But the training is where I have slowed a little bit.”
UFC 325 takes place Jan. 31 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dustin Jacoby says UFC training will have its revenge: ‘I’m doomed’
