Dustin Jacoby nearly had a walkoff knockout, but referee Dan Miragliotta didn’t stop the fight so he had to keep going until he finally put Julius Walker away in the second round at UFC Vegas 113.
It was strange finish after Jacoby uncorked a beautiful straight punch that floored Walker and it appeared the fight was over. Jacoby was ready to celebrate but Miragliotta, who was refereeing his 500th UFC fight, told them to keep going.
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So Jacoby continued dishing out punishment including several nasty elbows to the side of the head until he finally opened up with a barrage of punches and Walker just wilted from the pressure. The end mercifully came at 1:42 in the second round.
“That feels absolutely great,” Jacoby said about his knockout. “I am pretty exhausted. I am thankful, blessed and I am relieved. I thought Dan had stopped the fight and I kind of stepped away. I thought it was going to be over but it wasn’t. I had to keep going until it was done. I would love nothing more than fighting at the White House in June.”
Prior to the finish, Walker found some success early when he turned to his grappling, hitting a couple of nice slam takedowns in the opening round. But Jacoby stayed patient and kept finding ways to scramble free to get back to his feet.
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Once the second round started, Jacoby took over with the punch that put Walker down and out, although Walker recovered enough to grab a leg to survive a little longer. Jacoby was determined to put him away so he just kept dishing out punishment until the finally got the stoppage.
The win marks Jacoby’s third knockout in a row and now he’s hoping to earn a coveted spot on the UFC White House card planned for June 14.
