Dustin Jacoby was likely down on the scorecards but then he uncorked a hellacious one-punch knockout that ended Vitor Petrino’s night in violent fashion at UFC Tampa.
While there were some fun exchanges, the light heavyweights had largely settled into a pattered without much action as the fight moved into the third and final round. That all changed when Jacoby finally found an opening to throw a brutal right hand that twisted Petrino’s head around on swivel as he crashed to the ground in a heap.
A HOME RUN PUNCH FROM DUSTIN JACOBY #UFCTampa pic.twitter.com/n24Ea2RwUi
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 15, 2024
The end came at 3:44 in the third round with Jacoby delivering the jaw-dropping finish.
“I heard you guys booing but the game plan was to stay patient,” Jacoby said following the win. “When I got him, I knew I was going to get him. I stayed locked in. We got this shit done.”
The first two rounds largely played out the same with Petrino staying in pursuit of Jacoby but then getting wary to overextend himself and allow the former GLORY kickboxer to set up his counter strikes. Petrino surged forward a few times and unleashed some bombs but Jacoby did a good job to avoid taking much damage.
A hug showing respect at the start of the third round actually received a large chorus of boos from the Tampa faithful but Jacoby was clearly just biding his time until he saw the opening to throw that fight-finishing punch. Replays showed Jacoby launching his right hand and then just crushing Petrino’s chin before he dropped to the canvas to end the fight.
Following a rough 1-4 run through his past five fights, Jacoby needed to get back on track and there was no better way to do that than with his highlight reel knockout on Saturday.
MMA Fighting – All Posts
