“Raging” has never been a more appropriate nickname for Al Iaquinta than it is right now.
The Long Island-based powerhouse is currently in the midst of an impressive run up the stacked ranks of the UFC’s lightweight fold and has made a larger statement with each and every step.
And as progress goes, so does the 27-year-old New Yorker’s intensity and hunger for bigger things. His desire for personal progress continues to grow as the Serra-Longo product draws closer to the deepest waters of a talent-stacked division.
Iaquinta possesses a take-no-prisoners mentality and is intent on turning that tenacity on anyone who will step into the Octagon with him.
Each of his three most recent bouts came against progressively higher competition, and Iaquinta settled them all respectively. His latest foe was Joe Lauzon at UFC 183, and The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 alum was drubbed and battered until the referee stepped in to stop the mauling in the second round.
The end result was another dominant performance and notable name added to Iaquinta‘s resume.
“I loved that fight,” Iaquinta told Bleacher Report. “It went pretty much exactly as how Ray [Longo], Matt [Serra] and I had drawn it up. I knew he was going to be tough and Ray told me throughout the entire training camp I was going to have to be content to beat on him for 15 minutes. He started to slow down and I caught him with a shot. He hung tough—about as long as anyone probably could have—then the referee eventually stepped in and stopped it. I was in shape and ready to do that for the full 15 minutes if I had to.”
While Iaquinta was ultimately able to push through once he had Lauzon on the ropes, the Massachusetts native has made a career out of battling it out until the bitter end.
That determination has allowed him to pull off some impressive finishes in the past, but Iaquinta‘s pressure ensured that wasn’t to be the case at UFC 183.
“I knew he was not all there because he didn’t have his equilibrium,” Iaquinta recalled. “I saw that and just stayed in his face hitting him with shots. I wasn’t going to let him get his consciousness back and wanted to keep him on weak legs. And that’s exactly what happened. I was going to keep peppering him and hitting him with shots.
“Sometimes I get too wild. In every fight I’ve been in, I’ve had my opponent hurt, but I’m getting really good at judging distance and keeping them hurt now. I’m not getting too close where they can clinch up or staying too far out where they can get their faculties back. I’m keeping them just at the distance they need to be for me to keep them hurt.”
Following his lopsided victory over Lauzon in Las Vegas, Iaquinta immediately sought out his next challenge.
After seeing that former lightweight champion Benson Henderson had vacated his scheduled bout against Jorge Masvidal on April 4 at Fight Night 63 to become a late-notice replacement against Brandon Thatch at Fight Night 60 on Feb. 14, the surging 155-pounder offered up his services to face “Gamebred.”
Several phone calls later, the bout was a done deal, and the card in Fairfax, Virginia now had a new co-main event.
While Masvidal has publicly stated his frustration with the matchup and believes Iaquinta has no business fighting him, The Ultimate Fighter Season 15 alum is confident his opponent has no idea what is heading his way.
Iaquinta has every intention of bringing the fight directly to Masvidal and proving he’s ready for the best the division has to offer in the process.
“I’ve seen a few things on Twitter, but I haven’t heard anything in interviews, but everyone I talk to is telling me [Masvidal] doesn’t sound too intelligent,” Iaquinta said. “I’m not really taking anything he says too seriously.
“I think [Ross] Pearson and Lauzon are definitely bigger names. I don’t know why that is. I don’t know what it is about him, whether it’s his fighting style or his lack of social media or what not, but he’s really not out there. The diehard fans of the sport know who he is, but the common folk really don’t know much about him.”
Regardless of what pleasantries are exchanged between the two fighters in the lead-up to Fight Night 63, when the cage door closes, there is going to be violence.
Both Iaquinta and Masvidal work behind high-output offenses, and each man possesses the power to end the fight in one clean shot. With that said, Iaquinta is confident he’s hitting his stride, and once the best of what he has to offer is put on display, it will send a resounding message to the rest of the lightweight division.
“I told them back in Australia I’m here to make the lightweight division humble and that’s what I’m gonna do,” Iaquinta said. “Time and time again, I’m proving it.
“This is it, man,” he added. “It’s the same feeling I had when I fought Ross Pearson and Joe Lauzon. It’s the same feeling all over again. You work hard, put on impressive performances and get victories over tough opponents and move up the rankings. That’s what I’m going to keep doing and moving my way up.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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