- Dustin Jacoby thinks Alex Pereira’s punch is still the hardest among his past rivals
- “The Hanyak” banks on the Brazilian’s KO power if he ever faces Israel Adesanya
For Dustin Jacoby, Alex Pereira is still the hardest puncher he has ever fought and if the Brazilian winds up facing Israel Adesanya, the champ should be mindful of that.
Pereira hits really hard
For those who don’t know, before Jacoby entered the UFC and became one of the most notable light heavyweights at present, he was competing as a middleweight in GLORY kickboxing. In there, he clashed with Pereira, who brutally knocked him out via left hook, the same move that finished Sean Strickland at UFC 276.
That fight took place in 2014 but to this day, “The Hanyak” still thinks Pereira’s punch is the hardest he’s ever taken.
“I fought Pereira — it’s the only time I’ve ever been knocked out,” Jacoby told The MMA Hour. “The guy knocks everybody out with the left hook. I can say that loud and proud, because there’s several guys that have fallen victim to him. And he’s just a dangerous man… No. 1, hands down. It’s not even a close comparison,” Jacoby said. “Dude, I have a great chin. That’s not something to be real proud of, but if you’re going to be fighting people for a living, you better bring that to the table. If you’ve got a good chin, you’ve got a good chance of staying the fight. And with him, he just touches people different.”
“I’ve been able to take a lot of punches from a lot of guys that are solid,” he continued. “Da Un Jung got me with one shot and it was a clean right hand, but I took it like nothing and it never fazed me one bit. I’ve yet to be rocked here in the UFC and I’ve fought a lot of big guys. Excuse me, Pereira just hits different, man. He’s got that power.”
Be careful, Izzy
Though Pereira has gotten the better of Adesanya twice in kickboxing, Jacoby is certain that a fight between the two longtime rivals in MMA will be interesting. However, “The Hanyak” still puts his money on the Brazilian and he wants Izzy to watch out for those punches.
“It’s an interesting matchup… Izzy, I know [Pereira] holds the 2-0 record, but again, that’s kickboxing, and one of those fights I think was a really good fight that could’ve gone either way,” he added. “And Izzy’s just different inside the MMA octagon. He’s got good defense. He fights really smart. He’s got high IQ. I’m a big fan of both guys… “But I would never bet against Pereira, man. That guy can literally touch anybody and knock them out at the drop of a dime, so Izzy’s got to be careful.”
Following his stunning KO win over Strickland, Pereira has become a commodity in both middleweight and welterweight divisions. Aside from Adesanya, top 170-pound contender Khamzat Chimaev is also yearning for a scrap with the Brazilian knockout artist. Either way, it will be a massive fight for sure.
