Dana White explains why he is giving Dustin Jacoby a second chance in the UFC: “I said f*ck it”

UFC president Dana White explained why he is giving light heavyweight Dustin Jacoby a second chance to fight in the Octagon.

Jacoby defeated Ty Flores via lopsided unanimous decision in the main event of Tuesday night’s Contender Series, winning the fight with scores of 30-26, 29-27, and 29-27. White usually only hands out contracts to fighters on the show who get the finish, so it was perhaps a bit of a surprise when he announced that Jacoby would be given a contract. Along with Jacoby, lightweight prospects Jordan Leavitt and Uros Medic also earned deals.

Speaking to the media at the post-fight press conference, White admitted that he was on the fence about giving Jacoby a deal. Ultimately, he said he made up his mind to give Jacoby a contract while being interviewed by UFC host Laura Sanko following the event.

“Every fight — I write notes for every fight (on the Contender Series). I had no notes for that fight. I was on the fence,” White said.

“He’s 32 years old, he fought like a dog, he’s definitely exciting, he’s not boring, he’s not trying to hold on and look for an easy win. He kept throwing, he’s obviously a very technical fighter, and he fought a durable (Flores) — it probably should have been stoped in the second round, I don’t want to go beating up the officials like it sounds like all we’ve been doing lately — but it probably should have been stopped in the second round. He’s 32 years old, I’m going to giving him a chance. I said ‘F*ck it.’ when I was talking to Laura, I was like, ‘I’m going to give the kid a shot.'”

The UFC bossman further explained why he’s giving Jacoby the “benefit of a doubt.”

“When I walked in there, I didn’t know what I was going to do. I literally have no notes whatsoever on it, and I just started thinking of everything. He’s an exciting kid, he tried to go for it. (There’s) a lot of pressure. There’s a lot of things that go along with coming to fight tonight. A lot of pressure. I’m sure there’s a huge adrenaline dump for these kids. So I gave him the benefit of a doubt and I’m going to give him a shot. He’s 32 years old, if I didn’t just sign him tonight, that kid ain’t getting into the UFC. It’s not going to happen. So I did it. I said, ‘F*ck it,'” White said.

For Jacoby, this will be his second stint in the UFC. He previously competed for the promotion in 2011 and 2012, losing a decision to Clifford Starks at UFC 137: Diaz vs. Penn and getting submitted by Chris Camozzi at UFC on FOX: Evans vs. Davis. Since then, Jacoby has bounced around various MMA promotions including Bellator, but he is most known for his stint in GLORY Kickboxing where he proved he is an elite striker. He’s an exciting fighter and it will be interesting to see who the UFC gives him next.

Do you think Dana White made the right call giving Dustin Jacoby a UFC contract?