You never get a second chance to make a first impression. That is, unless your name is Dustin Jacoby.
Jacoby’s story is a tale of three lives. He burst onto the MMA scene at age 22 and went on a 6-0 run as a pro. He scored a UFC contract by age 24. However, he was cut before his 25th birthday. From there, he bounced around between a few regional promotions and lost back-to-back Bellator fights. This led to a step back from MMA for about four and a half years.
During his time away, Jacoby took on a new life as a pro kickboxer. He won a couple of tournaments under the GLORY Kickboxing banner before eventually capturing the league’s middleweight title in 2016. He got injured twice, though, and eventually stepped away from kickboxing as well.
Just like “orange is the new black” or “40 is the new 30,” COVID-19 is the new injury bug. In MMA, short-notice replacements and fight cancellations have long been due primarily to injuries. However, since the UFC came back online in May 2020, COVID-19 has been the primary affliction ravaging fight cards. One particular UFC middleweight match-up was impacted by both injury and the virus.
In June 2020, Ian Heinisch was scheduled to face Brendan Allen at UFC on ESPN 12. Heinisch was coming off a first-round submission of Gerald Meerschaert only three weeks prior after suffering back-to-back losses in the second half of 2019. Allen, on the other hand, was riding a six-fight winning streak and looking forward to a huge opportunity against a ranked opponent. However, less than two weeks before the fight, Heinisch had to pull out due to an injury.
GLORY 44: Chicago took place last weekend at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Following the exciting event, we break down what’s ahead for the winners and losers of everything from the first fight of the night to the main event for the GLORY welterweight title.
Winners
Murthel Groenhart: The controversy surrounding their second meeting warrants a third chance for Harut Grigorian to best Groenhart. Grigorian has won 14 of his past 16, including victories over Tayfun Ozcan, Antoine Pinto, Karim Benmansour, Nordin Ben Moh, Marco Piqué and Danijel Solaja. The newly crowned welterweight king Groenhart has won seven of his past eight, including victories over Grigorian, Yoann Kongolo, Thongchai and Cédric Doumbé.