Dustin Jacoby Nickname ‘The Hanyak’: Meaning Behind UFC Star’s Moniker

Fighting out of Denver, Colorado, Dustin Jacoby extracted quite some ‘Ooh’s and ‘Aah’s from the fighting community. With a knack for the triangle choke and knees to the dome, this light heavyweight fighter has been moving slowly, but steadily towards the title. But do you know what his nickname ‘The Hanyak’ means?

Well, judging by the moniker, one might guess that the 36-year-old has roots in a European nation, don’t you think? Today, let’s take a deep dive into the early life of Dustin Jacoby and find out all about his nickname and his early MMA career. 

What is the meaning behind Dustin Jacoby’s nickname ‘The Hanyak’?

Born in Fort Morgan, Colorado, Jacoby and his twin brother Darren, were pretty aggressive and confrontational. That’s why Jacoby’s grandmother used to call the twins ‘little rebellious Polish soldiers’. Well, that’s what the moniker means. Talking to the UFC, ‘The Hanyak’ said, “A Polish soldier. A rebel without a cause. An aggressive athlete. My grandmother used to call my twin brother and I ‘little hanyaks’ when we were growing up.”

So how did the little rebels find their way to the world of mixed martial arts? The Jacoby twins were introduced to Taekwondo at the age of 4, and in a year, they began their journey in Wrestling. But their training faced a bit of a halt when the family moved to Illinois. Following a few years of playing basketball and football, they returned to the world of martial arts in 2010. The light heavyweight contender said, “I began training full-time in June of 2010. My twin brother started fighting before me and I followed suit.”

While Darren Jacoby has taken his leave from sanctioned fighting, ‘The Hanyak’ still continues to compete as an LHW fighter. For the unversed, Jacoby has also fought in Glory Kickboxing. He has a record of 8-7 as a kickboxer and you would be surprised to know that he once competed against the current UFC 205lbs kingpin Alex Pereira at Glory 14 but it ended up in a loss for the Colorado native. 

Are you wondering about Jacoby’s mixed martial arts career? If so, then my friend, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s take a look at how ‘The Hanyak’ has performed in the MMA cage. After all, the 36-year-old light heavyweight contender has been striving quite hard to make his stance known in the fighting community. 

Dustin Jacoby’s MMA and UFC record

The Colorado-born fighter began his professional fighting career with the Capital City Cage Wars and went on a 6-fight winning spree before stepping into the UFC for the first time. Unfortunately, his debut at UFC 137 resulted in a defeat, and the following matchup ended in the same way. Jacoby then got out of UFC and tried his skills in an array of promotions like the HFC, CFFC, WSOF, CCCW, Titan FC, and Bellator FC before getting back to the Octagon through Dana White’s Contender Series 2020.

Finally, after 8 years, Jacoby resumed his UFC career with a win against Justin Ledet. Although he couldn’t win against them, ‘The Hanyak’ competed against fighters like Khalil Rountree Jr., and Dominick Reyes. Now he has amassed 19 victories in his professional MMA career, with 9 losses and 1 draw. In the UFC, he has a record of 7-6-1. On top of that, Jacoby has secured 12 of his wins via KO/TKO, and another 1 by submission. Pretty impressive, right? 

However, ‘The Hanyak’ has been having trouble with his recent bouts. He has won only one fight out of his last 5 bouts and is all set to go up against Vitor Petrino at UFC on ESPN 63. Needless to say, Jacoby would be looking to overturn his losing spree into a winning streak. Do you think ‘The Hanyak’ can defeat Vitor Petrino in his upcoming outing? Drop down to the comments below and share your predictions with us.