Most fighters who compete under the GLORY banner have fought in kickboxing or Muay Thai for a significant part of their lives.
Not Colorado’s Dustin Jacoby.
The middleweight is a natural athlete that played college football and found himself competing in the UFC at just 23 years old. Four years later, the Factory X Muay Thai product finds himself as a top-five ranked kickboxer.
Jacoby has faced a gauntlet of fighters in his 12-fight kickboxing career, with all 12 bouts taking place in the GLORY ring. None of his opponents have been tougher than his GLORY 24 foe, Wayne Barrett, who he faced in the co-main event on Oct. 9 in his own backyard of Denver. Jacoby earned the biggest win of his career, as he became the first man to stop Barrett when he scored a third-round TKO.
“I feel great, man,” said an elated Jacoby post-fight. “I’m ready to get back in there and get after it. I took out one of the top guys. I saw the rankings already and I moved up above him into the top five, so I’m excited to keep it going.”
Many thought Jacoby would be in for a tough night against the hard-hitting Barrett, but that wasn’t the case in the ring. Jacoby marched forward throughout and his pace was simply too much for Barrett to handle.
“Honestly, it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be,” said Jacoby candidly. “I don’t know if I trained harder or if he trained less, or if it was the altitude. I put the pressure on him and I feel like I broke him.
“Wayne’s a great athlete, a great fighter. Much respect to him, but I took his soul tonight.”
Always evolving as a fighter, Jacoby credits in-fight adjustments and the tutelage of Kru Marc Montoya for helping secure the win.
“In the first round, I was a little shaky,” admitted Jacoby. “He was doing a great job of countering me.
“My coach and I made some adjustments in the corner, and after round two — I knew I won round two — I looked over and saw he wasn’t ready, so I knew it was over. I was ready to break him, and I came out in the third round and did that.”
As Jacoby alluded to, he had the backing of the hometown crowd at the Magness Arena. After fighting in London, Tokyo, Zagreb and Dubai over the past few years, he relished the chance to have a home game.
“It was awesome,” he said with smile. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to fight in front of a home crowd. With GLORY, I’ve traveled all over the world, which is really cool, but it’s a whole different feeling when you can come to your backyard.
“It was great. The atmosphere was awesome.”
After taking out the fourth-ranked Barrett, Jacoby quickly set his sights on a new opponent: Joe Schilling. Schilling, who headlined GLORY 24, earned a second-round TKO over Jason Wilnis. While it’s not certain that GLORY will put the fight together, Jacoby is anxious for another tough test.
“I want Joe Schilling,” he declared. “I thought Joe looked great tonight. He put the pressure on and was throwing combos really well. I’m a firm believer that styles and match-ups make the fight. I think he and I would be one hell of a fight. Let’s do it!”