He’s got good reason to feel that way. If he extends his unbeaten streak to seven this weekend in Long Island, that’s a run that’s hard to ignore, and after his most recent fight (and win) over Michal Oleksiejczuk, he earned his first Top 15 ranking. To some fighters, that’s not a big deal. To Jacoby, it is.
“I thought it was really cool,” he said. “Especially the journey that I’ve had. I’ve had a long career, getting to the UFC a decade ago and getting booted after two fights and the ups and downs and the travel, and just what it took to get back, to be able to get back and reel off a bunch of wins like I have and to get into the Top 15, it meant a lot to me. And it means a lot to me right now, and it will going into this fight. I know this guy is really good, and they’re wanting to push him a little bit and give him an opportunity to climb into the rankings, and I’ve got to defend my spot and continue to climb the ladder and make my way towards the top.”
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Jacoby wanted to continue that climb earlier than this weekend, but early in the March matchup with Oleksiejczuk, he injured his left hand. Not that it stopped him from throwing and landing it for 15 minutes. That’s just how fighters like Jacoby are made.
“I’m such a vet now and I’ve been through it,” he said. “It’s more of a shocker when I get through a fight and I’m not injured. That fight with Darren Stewart was a pleasant surprise. Even the fight after that, when I fought John Allan in New York, I’d thrown quite a bit of kicks that fight and my legs were pretty sore and beat up and I had to let those rest for a few weeks, but it’s just part of the game. It’s part of what we sign up for and I was just thankful that I didn’t require surgery.”
That means despite tearing a sagittal band in his finger, he kept going. That adrenalin must be something.
