Al Iaquinta

UFC 273’s co-main event has enough bad blood to carry the show. Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling have made it clear they don’t like one another, nor is there any mutual respect. Yan believes Sterling a cheater and quitter, whereas “Funkmaster” is understandably rather pissed about the illegal knee and subsequent s—t talk. Earlier today, Yan took it up a notch by threatening to “kill” Sterling and his team.

With a decade of UFC experience behind him, Al Iaquinta isn’t in any rush to see open scoring in his fights. The UFC lightweight has been on both sides of the decision coin throughout his career, but in the hot topic discussion of whether of not open scoring should be implemented sport wide, Iaquinta is on the side of keeping things as they are, but improving the quality of the individuals responsible for scoring the rounds.

Nate Diaz asked for his release from the UFC over the weekend on social media, but he likely won’t get what he wants. What does that mean for the popular fighter? That topic is discussed on this Thursday edition of Heck of a Morning with MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck.

Before Bobby Green’s short-notice headliner against Islam Makhachev, watch the UFC veteran put his hands to work against Al Iaquinta. Green, who headlines UFC Vegas 49 on Saturday, became the first fighter to knock out The Ultimate Fighter 15 winner Iaquinta, who sought to snap an extended skid when they met this past November at UFC 268.

Despite a wide margin between their striking stats, Roxanne Modafferi went the distance with Casey O’Neill and convinced one Texas judge she was the winner of her retirement fight – via a 29-28 score – at UFC 271. The remaining two judges correctly ruled O’Neill the winner...

Al Iaquinta has doubts about Jake Paul‘s intentions regarding fighter pay. The topic of fighter pay has become a hot-button issue lately among fighters and media. Jake Paul is one man who is leading the way to help improve the pay structure with MMA. He has been vocal about wanting the UFC to pay their fighters more money and has targeted UFC President Dana White in this battle. However, some people are having doubts about Paul’s true intentions in this fight, including Al Iaquinta.

Veteran UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta applauds heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou for seeking a better deal from his promoter. “Good for Francis,” he said Wednesday on The MMA Hour. “Guy stuck to his guns. Francis is the guy that should be going nuts right now.”. Iaquinta can relate, though...

The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Wednesday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. GMT. 1 p.m. ET: Jack Hermansson discusses his UFC Vegas 47 headliner opposite Sean Strickland. 1:30 p.m.: Veteran UFC...

Al Iaquinta may have made his final walk to the Octagon at UFC 268. The 34-year-old veteran’s first trip to the Octagon in over two years did not exactly go as planned. Almost immediately, Bobby Green figured out his timing and started landing counters. Iaquinta tried to pressure through and find his foe’s chin, but Green kept landing, and Iaquinta hit the canvas for good just before the midway point of the opening round.

Al Iaquinta says his career is likely over. At UFC 268 in Madison Square Garden, Iaquinta made his return after a three-year layoff to face Bobby Green. It appeared to be a winnable fight, but the contest did not go his way as he lost by first-round TKO. According to...

Al Iaquinta may have called it a day. Iaquinta is coming off a first-round TKO defeat to Bobby Green at UFC 268 earlier this month. It was the first time Iaquinta had been finished by strikes in his mixed martial arts career. It also made it three straight losses for...

Lightweight veteran Al Iaquinta has admitted he “gave up” against Bobby Green at UFC 268, and suggested he’s likely to retire from the sport. Iaquinta, who’s fought in the UFC ever since a defeat to Michael Chiesa in The Ultimate Fighter 15 Lightweight Tournament final in 2012, has gone 1-4 across his last five fights. The torrid run began with his sole title fight in the promotion.

There’s no joy on Long Island for fight fans. Locals Al Iaquinta and Gian Villante both succumbed to strikes on the preliminary portion of UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden, in the first and second rounds, respectively. Iaquinta, a former lightweight title challenger, couldn’t get it going against California’s Bobby...

The UFC 268 prelims have come to a close and we got some pretty exciting finishes including a jump knee debut, a quick TKO amongst veterans, and a crazy comeback knockout for another debuting fighter. Closing out the preliminary card, former GLORY Kickboxing superstar Alex Pereira wiped out Andreas Michailidis with a nasty jump knee in the second-round. Alex had to navigate a wall and stall gameplan from his opponent, but once he had his moment in open space, he made it count! Pereira is well-known for knocking out current middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, in a kickboxing bout back in the 2017. He has now arrived in the UFC!

Bobby Green had no problem stepping into enemy territory on Saturday night at UFC 268 and making the most of his moment in a fight against hometown favorite Al Iaquinta. Displaying lightning quick hands with deadly accuracy, Green was on target from the first punch he unloaded with Iaquinta coming after him in the opening round. The finishing combination was a nasty left jab followed by a straight right behind it that saw Iaquinta’s head get twisted around before he crashed to the canvas.

Wantagh's Al Iaquinta faced Bobby Green in a lightweight fight at UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 6, 2021. Bobby Green readies another blow to Al Iaquinta on the canvas in the first round of their match during UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021.

Al Iaquinta doesn't think there are many other fighters who would've made it out on the other side of what he's been through since his last UFC bout. The veteran lightweight has been out of action since an October 2019 loss to Dan Hooker due to lingering injuries that, at one point, made him contemplate retirement.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 268 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Though his stay in the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been marked by extended periods of inactivity, Al Iaquinta rarely—if ever—fails to entertain the masses.

Wantagh's Al Iaquinta talks about why he wanted to return after two years away dealing with injuries at UFC 268 media day on Nov. 3, 2021. Credit: Newsday.