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UFC veteran 'bummed' to fight in promotion’s quietest venue

Mathew Riddle

Handout Photo-Imagn Images

Scoring one of the best knockouts of 2024 isn't enough to garner a live crowd, according to the UFC.

Such is the case with former GLORY Kickboxer-turned-MMA fighter Dustin Jacoby, who rebounded from a two-fight losing streak with a stunning one-shot knockout over Vitor Petrino in December last year.

'The Hanyak' has had a mixed bag of success in his 15 UFC fights, but his knockout over Petrino was arguably his most emphatic victory in his professional career. His reward? A performance bonus on the night, and an APEX booking in his next appearance...

Vitor Petrino unconscious after Dustin Jacoby's knockout punc
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Dustin Jacoby let down by UFC APEX booking

Jacoby will take on 14-1 Bruno Lopes at the UFC APEX for UFC Vegas 107 on May 31. The APEX venue is the UFC's in-house arena, where they sacrifice a live crowd for seamless production.

While the APEX was a novelty during COVID, it's since become a venue for middling fights, and the dozens of people in attendance pale compared to live crowds in arenas.

As a prize fighter, Jacoby is disappointed to step into the APEX Octagon in his next fight.

"I accepted it. Then I found out it was at the APEX, and I was pretty bummed," Jacoby told MMA Junkie. ". . . I have to control what I can control and get the job done.

". . . It does sting a little bit. I was on a good run when I fought Nzechukwu, a big crowd in Nashville. . . . The crowd lives for those moments [Petrino KO] and us as fighters, we live for those moments. So it does sting a little bit.

". . . It is tough to get pumped up for those [APEX] fights."

The same fate has befallen Mateusz Gamrot and L'udovit Klein, two top lightweights who fight each other on the same night as Jacoby.

The UFC APEX Arena has been scrutinized for its overuse in recent years. Before COVID, the UFC was on the road with live crowds for every event. Now, every other event happens in the APEX, and fans are tired.

UFC mocked fans for their disdain of the APEX back in March, but with the next UFC broadcast partner being up in the air, there is hope yet for them to return to form.

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Mathew Riddle
MATHEW RIDDLE

Mathew is a UK-based combat sports journalist, graphic designer, and SEO expert with half a decade of digital marketing and a dedicated four-year track record in MMA journalism. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023. Mathew's insights have been featured on Bloody Elbow, The Fight Fanatic, and Heavy on UFC. He runs Warrior Tribune and can be contacted by his Muckrack profile.

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