Dustin Jacoby (born April 4, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer who currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In kickboxing, he has competed for GLORY, and in MMA, he has competed also for Bellator, World Series of Fighting, and Titan FC. He has fought as both a Light Heavyweight and a Middleweight. On November 1, 2018, he was ranked as the #8 middleweight kickboxer in the world by Combat Press. As of August 1, 2023, he is #15 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.
Background
Jacoby was born in Fort Morgan, Colorado and grew up in Colorado. Dustin has a twin brother Darren, who is a former professional mixed martial artist. The brothers began training taekwondo at the age of four, both picking up wrestling a year later. Dustin trained taekwondo for four years but continued to wrestle until the family moved to Illinois when the brothers were 12.
In Illinois Jacoby started playing basketball, claiming all-state honors while attended Triopia High School. Also playing football in the high school, Dustin had many Division I scholarship offers for both sports but due to a severe knee injury sustained during his senior year many of the offers were withdrawn. Subsequently Jacoby selected Culver-Stockton College where he played football two years as a quarterback while studying business management, before transferring to Quincy University.
Kickboxing career
GLORY World Series
Jacoby was a last-minute replacement for professional boxer Manuel Quezada at the Road to GLORY USA Light Heavyweight (209 lbs.) Tournament in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He had never competed in a professional kickboxing match before the tournament. He pulled off a major upset, knocking out International Sport Karate Association Heavyweight Champion Randy Blake, fellow mixed martial artist Roy Boughton and 19–0 prospect Brian Collette en route to winning the Tournament Championship. He earned a check for $20,000 and a one-year contract with Glory World Series.
He lost to Michael Duut by TKO after being knocked down three time in round one at GLORY 5: London in London, England on March 23, 2013.
Jacoby fought at GLORY 9: New York: 2013 95kg Slam in New York City, New York on June 22, 2013. Rematching Brian Collette in the quarter-finals, he took a close majority decision win. He then faced Danyo Ilunga in the semis and put up a good fight early, but fell behind in rounds two and three as he was hacked at with leg kicks and lost a unanimous decision.
He was set to fight Makoto Uehara at GLORY 12: New York: Lightweight World Championship Tournament in New York City on November 23, 2013 but the fight was switched to GLORY 13: Tokyo: Welterweight World Championship Tournament in Tokyo, Japan on December 21, 2013. He lost to Uehara by split decision.
He was set to face Robert Thomas in the semifinals of the GLORY 14: Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia on March 8, 2014 but Thomas withdrew for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Alex Pereira.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
During a college offseason, Jacoby took an amateur mixed martial arts bout and got hooked to the sport immediately. After the college he started training at Finney's HIT Squad and turned professional after racking up an amateur record of 9-1.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Jacoby was expected to make his UFC debut against Brad Tavares on October 29, 2011 at UFC 137, replacing an injured Tim Credeur. However, Tavares himself was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by fellow newcomer Clifford Starks. Jacoby lost the fight via unanimous decision.
In his second UFC outing, Jacoby was submitted by Chris Camozzi via guillotine choke on January 28, 2012 at UFC on Fox 2. He was later released from the UFC, following an 0–2 run in the promotion.
Post-UFC career
Jacoby bounced back from his UFC stint with a pair of victories on the regional circuit. He knocked out Billy Johnson in 45 seconds at an Indiana-based Hoosier Fight Club event on June 2, 2012, followed by a doctor stoppage win over Tim Williams for the Cage Fury FC middleweight title.
World Series of Fighting
Jacoby made his WSOF debut at its inaugural event on November 3, 2012, losing to fellow UFC veteran David Branch via unanimous decision.
Bellator MMA
Jacoby stepped in as a replacement for an injured Marcus Sursa to face Muhammed Lawal on September 5, 2014 at Bellator 123. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round.
Jacoby faced John Salter on January 16, 2015 at Bellator 132. He lost the fight via submission in the second round.