Dustin Jacoby left the entire fanbase stunned with a true heavyweight’s power that brought down Vitor Petrino at UFC Tampa. Needless to say, the sledgehammer-like punch was more than enough to help ‘The Hanyak’ bounce back from his 2-fight losing streak. But things weren’t as smooth as they appear to be. Jacoby was actually on the verge of putting Dana White in a bit of troubled waters because of an injury. 

All toes and fingers are important for fighters who often rely on striking. This was indeed the reason why Conor McGregor pulled out of his fight at UFC 303. But Jacoby did no such thing. Following his phenomenal victory, he had a brief talk with MMA Fighting. He revealed, “Three weeks prior to the fight, I completely ripped my right big toe off my foot. I could not run, walk, train, nothing the entire week. I was really nervous that I was not going to be able to make the walk to the octagon.” 

‘The Hanyak’ has fought more than 50 MMA and kickboxing bouts combined, and the one thing that he takes pride in is his never-give-up attitude. Jacoby, who has never pulled out of his fights, continued, “There was a lot of doubts, especially when I ripped that toe off.” Of course, this wasn’t the first time a fighter did such a thing. Jon Jones, Alex Pereira, and Chael Sonnen are just a handful of fighters who have won fights while their feet were injured. 

But what exactly happened with the heavyweight’s toe? Jacoby recollected “I thought I rolled my toe or I stubbed it. I finished the round – the round got over and I started walking back to my corner and I’m like holy shit, my foot really hurts. We saw blood everywhere and I took my training pad off and sat down on the stool and I saw the inside of my right big toe had a huge cut on it. I’m like where in the heck did that come from? I thought I just stubbed it. I grabbed my toe to see how bad it was, and my entire toe just came off my foot. It was like a door hinge. I freaked out, I pushed it back and I looked around and I was like ‘I have to go somewhere right now.’” 

With the fight just 3 weeks away back then, Jacoby was left with worries about putting the fight in jeopardy. He rushed to the hospital and found out that it was a simple dislocation, not a fracture. The medical staff stitched up his wound and assured him that he would be able to fight. However, with the stitches, it would be a bit uncomfortable for a week or two. But if he could walk, he could definitely fight. 

Instead of letting this injury affect his performance, he put it all on the line, with adrenaline helping him fight through the discomfort in the match. He said, “I didn’t feel it one time there in the fight. It’s insane what the human body is capable of! I couldn’t believe it.” Well, it was the kind of determination that got him a pretty hefty bonus, and Dana White was all here for it.

Dana White promises Dustin Jacoby a bonus for his KO punch

After impressing the entire fighting community with his performance against Petrino, ‘The Hanyak’ was left with just one doubt. When Michael Bisping commended him for his victory, he asked, “Do you think I get a bonus with that one?” ‘The Count’ directed the heavyweight victor to the UFC head honcho, who responded with an affirmation. No wonder Jacoby bounced around with the joy of getting richer by $50,000 following his interaction with Dana White.

Reflecting on the KO, Jacoby admitted that there was no better way to finish the fight. It even ranked at #1 in the list of his 13 KO wins. He was pretty happy with the way he sent his opponent’s head spinning in a cinematic way. No wonder he was proud of his decision not to pull out of the fight because of a hinged toe. 

Dustin Jacoby’s victory over Vitor Petrino was what the fight fans were waiting for, and it was indeed a perfect event to mark the end of the year. All praise should certainly go to ‘The Hanyak’ for his skills and attitude before a fight. 

What are your thoughts on fighting with an injury? Do you think it’s brave or utterly foolish? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.