Whenever Dustin Jacoby sees people waxing poetic about the punching power of Alex Pereira, he can relate. They’re right. He knows this from personal experience.
Before Jacoby became one of the hottest rising names in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, he was a middleweight contender competing in GLORY kickboxing — the same organization where Pereira once reigned as a two-division champion. Back in 2014, in Jacoby’s second year in the organization, he and Pereira actually crossed paths at an event in Zagreb, Croatia — and things didn’t exactly end well for the American.
Pereira knocked Jacoby out in brutal fashion with his trademark left hook. It is the only instance Jacoby was knocked out in combat sports.
That same power has now made its way to the UFC’s octagon, where Pereira is 3-0 and set to be the next challenger for UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya following his highlight-reel knockout of Sean Strickland at UFC 276. Pereira is 2-0 against Adesanya in kickboxing as well, and Jacoby is all too aware of the dangers Adesanya is up against.
“It’s an interesting matchup. I fought Pereira — it’s the only time I’ve ever been knocked out,” Jacoby said Monday on The MMA Hour. The left hook knocks everyone out. I can say that loud and proud, because there’s several guys that have fallen victim to him. He’s a very dangerous person. Izzy, I know [Pereira] holds the 2-0 record, but again, that’s kickboxing, and one of those fights I think was a really good fight that could’ve gone either way. And Izzy’s just different inside the MMA octagon. He has a great defense. He is very intelligent and fights well. He’s got high IQ. Both of them are a huge fan to me.
“But Pereira is a man I wouldn’t bet against. This guy is able to literally reach out and touch anyone, knocking them out with a single click .
The early returns of Pereira’s UFC career have been remarkable. He kicked off his run with a monster knockout of Andreas Michailidis followed by a gritty decision over Bruno Silva, but it was the Strickland knockout that really pushed his stock into overdrive.
Jacoby has experienced similar success since making his own transition back into MMA, rattling off a nine-fight unbeaten streak to take advantage of his second UFC opportunity. Jacoby has faced many power punchers, such as Da Un Jung, the top-ranked light heavyweight prospect at UFC Long Island. But Jacoby says nothing can compare to the sheer power Pereira experienced.
“No. 1, hands down. It’s not even a close comparison,” Jacoby said. Jacoby said, “Dude! I have a huge chin. That’s not something to be real proud of, but if you’re going to be fighting people for a living, you better bring that to the table. If you’ve got a good chin, you’ve got a good chance of staying the fight. He just touches everyone differently.
“I’ve been able to take a lot of punches from a lot of guys that are solid. Da Un Jung got me with one shot and it was a clean right hand, but I took it like nothing and it never fazed me one bit. I’ve yet to be rocked here in the UFC and I’ve fought a lot of big guys. Excuse me, Pereira just hits different, man. That power .”
is his.
This website uses cookies.