Dustin Jacoby Aims To Make Long Journey Worth It In Abu Dhabi

Dustin Jacoby heads into his second appearance of 2026 this weekend in Abu Dhabi riding a three-fight winning streak, having finished each of those opponents inside the distance. It’s the longest run of stoppages he has had in his UFC career and the most consecutive finishes he’s earned since his early days on the regional circuit, and the veteran light heavyweight gives most of the credit for those victories to the last time he suffered a defeat.

“I remember when I lost to Dominick Reyes, that night, I was just not focused,” Jacoby said. “I was not completely there; I had an off night. An off night in a basketball game, you score just a few points, end up on the bench. An off night in a UFC fight, you might get you’re a** knocked out, and that’s what ended up happening with me in the Reyes fight.

“I remember being in there and not being completely locked in,” he added. “I was like, ‘Man, I have to change that right now.’ The last three fights, I have been completely locked in, completely focused, and that’s the majority of it. Of course, I’m a vet, and I’ve got a lot of experience behind me now, so I am seeing things, but the focus is the main thing.”

Carrying that focus into the Octagon on Saturday shouldn’t be an issue for the Colorado-based veteran, though, as he is facing a high-risk, low-reward assignment that threatens to scuttle all that he’s worked for over the last handful of years.

Originally scheduled to face Uran Satybaldiev before the prospect from Kyrgyzstan was forced to withdraw for undisclosed reasons, Jacoby now faces the promotional newcomer Muhammad Said instead, who arrives sporting a 9-0 record with eight finishes and not a ton of tape for the Factory X Muay Thai representative to study to prepare for their fight this weekend.

“This is my 18th walk to the UFC Octagon and this guy’s first, which you would think it’s gonna be a walk in the park, but fighting is not like that,” Jacoby said. “It’s very risky on my end: I’m giving up everything I’ve worked for on my end, everything I’ve worked for to get to where I am now. You look at the Meta rankings, I’m No. 11 in the world, and they’re based off performance, not hype or social media followers, things like that. I’m risking everything. It’s a risky position I’m taking, but I just have to go in there cool, calm, and collected.

“I don’t really know much — there isn’t much film on this guy, but I do know he’s a pretty good kickboxer and he’s super-fast,” Jacoby said. “That’s something that’s gonna be a little different from my previous opponents, where these guys I have been fighting have been much bigger, cutting a lot of weight. I think this guy is not quite that big, in terms of mass; I think he’s closer to walking around what I do. I’m usually 218, 220 tops, not cutting a lot of weight, and I beat these guys with speed and cardio. This guy, I think, is gonna be pretty fast and a really good kickboxer.

“I just have to be on top of my game, use my experience and everything that has gotten me here,” he added. “Fight a smart fight, be focused, and be ready to go for the kill. I’m seeing things really well in there, and I’ve got a really good killer instinct, so when I’ve got him hurt, I’m definitely going to be going for the finish; I just have to be smart about it.”

If the risk-reward nature of this weekend’s matchup wasn’t enough to ensure Jacoby hits the Octagon fully dialed in and ready to go from the outset, a series of recent performances, including one from a close friend and frequent golfing buddy, have added to the motivation and drive heading into his second start of 2026.

“It’s 100-percent motivation, man,” he said with a smile when asked about the impact of Justin Gaethje’s championship win at UFC Freedom 250. “Gaethje has become a good buddy of mine, and who you surround yourself with is who you become. The past few years, we’ve been hanging out a lot more together, playing a lot of golf, training in the gym a little bit as well, and just being around him has elevated my game, my thought process, and everything around it.

“I put on one of my (Instagram) stories that it’s ‘almost time to remember who the f*** you are’ and that’s what it comes down to. When I was leaving my house, that’s what I told myself too: everything I’ve built and everything I’ve gained the past couple years can all go down the chute super-quick in this sport, so I’ve just got to be focused.

“But it’s guys like Brandon Royval, Tommy McMillen, ‘Paddy the Baddy,’ Justin Gaethje — watching those performances, those are things of greatness,” he added. “These caged animals are going in there and doing great stuff in the UFC Octagon, and that motivates me.

“I want to be on that level, have those type of performances, so it all comes down to Saturday night. I’ve got to go out there and do my thing.”

While his greatest focus this weekend is walking out of the Octagon with a fourth consecutive win in tow, there is something else that would be the cherry on top of a “Success Sundae” for Jacoby when he’s getting ready to make the 24-hour voyage back home.

“As long as I get the win, I’ll be fully satisfied,” he began. “That and I come out healthy; that’s the other thing about getting a little bit older in this sport. Everything seems to hurt a lot worse and a lot longer, and that was the big thing when I was supposed to fight in Australia: when we were flying home, I saw my boy Cody Brundage was a little beat up, and I was like, ‘I know that flight has got to be awful flying home.’

He laughed, thinking about the undoubted discomfort of flying home a little beaten up that his teammate and good friend Brundage endured flying home from Sydney at the start of February.

Jacoby, who was supposed to compete alongside Brundage, was a late scratch from the show, but stayed in Australia and cornered his teammate before flying to Las Vegas (comfortably) and defeating Julius Walker the following weekend.

“I used to say when I was younger that if I’m able to shower by myself after a fight, that’s a victory in and of itself because usually you have a broken hand, your shoulder or elbow (are messed up), you can’t wash your hair,” continued Jacoby, still laughing. “When I fought in Dubai in 2015 (for Glory Kickboxing), it was an absolute war, and I couldn’t wash my hair after that fight because my elbow was hurting so bad.

“That’s stuff that I never used to think about. A few years ago, I used to never be hurting, and now a couple years later, it’s like, ‘Everything hurts a little bit more.’

“So my big thing is that it’s gonna be huge if I can get out of the fight with a big win and healthy, get on that flight back home and enjoy myself a little bit,” he added. “That’ll be the best part about it.”

Don't miss a moment of UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Guskov, live from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on July 25, 2026. This event starts at a special time: prelims begin at 9am ET/6am PT, followed by the main card at 12pm ET/9am PT. Stream the entire event live on Paramount+.