Dustin “The Hanyak” Jacoby, former GLORY kickboxer and Cage Fury champion will take on “Sseda” Da Un Jung. The South Korean’s nickname means “the strongest of the strong,” a moniker given to the fighter by his teammates at Korean Top Team. As a resurgence of MMA has recently been breaking through in the country, Jung may very well be their greatest prospect in the light heavyweight division. With an undefeated record, including all but one win coming via stoppage, Jung will have to put up all his skill and talent to face Jacoby.
Like Jung, the American also boasts an undefeated UFC record, most recently beating Michal Oleksiejczuk via unanimous decision in March. However, with nine of his first ten victories coming by way of stoppage outside the UFC, not only will Jacoby be looking to win but also show UFC fans his real knockout ability.
Dustin Jacoby is an upcoming bout on this weekend’s UFC on ABC 3 preliminary card.
Betting Odds
Da Un Jung is currently a slight favorite against Dustin Jacoby before their clash at UFC on ABC 3 this weekend.
Breakdown
Jacoby, on paper, should have the advantage in the striking domain. However, the biggest question that will be answered is which Dustin Jacoby will show up. In his most recent fight against Oleksiejczuk, Jacoby looked a fraction of himself, neglecting to kick, move or keep up his regular pace by a large degree. After the fight, it was revealed he had been recovering from injuries to both legs and foot, resulting in a lack of cardio preparation going in. However rigid and quick to jump the gun seeing his opponent hurt also made it looks as though Jacoby was simply not quite comfortable in there after his hurdle of injuries, and while he still managed to pull out the 2-1 rounds decision win, Jung poses a larger threat.
If Jacoby is at his best, he is fluid and light on his feet, especially for a light heavyweight. He works the outside with a very loose guard, and uses a lot of hand tricks and showboating to actually create openings for lead jab and straights. His jab is especially tricky, because he mixes it up between a traditional straight jab and a hybrid somewhere moving towards a backfist. Kicking is also a massive part of his game, especially his lowkicks, which he uses to chop at the legs and emphasize his already typical advantage in movement and mobility.
He switches stance often as well to offer different looks and angles to land with power. However, if we see him lose composure at times in the fight, his habits can be emphasized. Should the tire especially, he has shown a tendency to leave his head on the cendre line when throwing his kicks, which especially becomes a large hole when he throws low. While he has not been particularly exposed by great wrestlers, he does lack in some areas. When controlling his opponent, given the opportunity to attack a submission, he can allow sp[ace enough space for his opponents to recover or get back to their feet. Especially from a front headlock, he neglects to control the posture of his opponent before securing the grip on the head meaning they can wrestle back to their feet.
Jung, compared to Jacoby, has less weapons. He basically uses just boxing, but he is extremely sharp, precise and tight with his technical work. He likes straights down the middle, behind openings he creates with either hand fighting or his jab. The former should be a major factor given Jacoby’s use of the lead hand to also create openings, but if Jung can force a rhythm or catch the lead consistently, it can throw off Jacoby’s game. Jung will also likely want to slow down the pace of the fight as his sniping style tends to work best when he can be patient and look for the straight down the pipe rather than landing in wild exchanges.
Ultimately, however, Jung should look to get the fight to the ground. His striking is tight enough that he likely will be able to minimize danger but technically he probably won’t be able to match Jacoby’s diversity of striking or range. Jung’s best bet is to use his boxing to press Jacoby and cut off the octagon in order to initiate the clinch. The over-under position is where Jung primarily looks for his takedowns, his favorite being the polish throw, which is an outside leg trip. The body lock of preference is not a position difficult to get to, but it’s trapping Jacoby against the cage that will be the real challenge, if Jung can complete this, his ability to show discipline and go back to it while also riding out time and ground and pound on top make up a major factor in victory for the Korean.
Prediction
Overall, it’s Jung’s fight to win. Jacoby is going to want to fight aggressively but maintain his preferred range and throw a lot of variety and Jung in order to catch him with something. His ability to strike from so many angles offer a greater chance at landing flush the more exchanges Jung entertains, but ultimately if Jung can cut his way down the middle and force Jacoby into the clinch he has his route to victory. On the mat, Jung holds a distinct advantage, especially if he can show a consistent ability to force clinch positions.
Prediction: Da Un Jung to win (-125 odds at MyBookie)