Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone as UFC on ESPN+ 9 went down from inside Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, last Saturday night (May 4, 2019) airing live on ESPN+. Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Cub Swanson, who suffered his fourth straight loss after falling to Shane Burgos via split decision. And Elias Theodorou, who saw his three-fight win streak snapped by Derek Brunson (recap here).
But Al Iaquinta — who came up short against Donald Cerrone in the headlining bout — is most likely suffering from the worst post-fight hangover. Coming into his main event showdown against “Cowboy,” Iaquinta was riding high off his second dominant win over Kevin Lee at UFC on FOX 31. In fact, since 2014, “Ragin’ Al” had gone 6-1 with his lone loss coming against Khabib Nurmagomedov, a ridiculously tough fight he took on just a single day’s notice.
Cerrone, though, was also coming in hot, winning two straight as ”Cowboy” didn’t look like an old veteran, taking it to Iaquinta from the jump. Both men were happy to keep the fight on the feet, as Cerrone was glad to use his size and reach advantage to stick and move. Iaquinta, however, once again proved why he is one of the toughest outs in all of mixed martial arts (MMA), taking some of his opponent’s best shots and still coming forward. In fact, getting dropped twice didn’t stop Iaquinta from pushing the pace the best he could with a busted up and bloodied grill, rocking Cerrone on a few occasions with some powerful and precise strikes.
In the end, though, the long-time veteran was too much for Iaquinta, scoring a unanimous decision victory (see it again here). A visibly upset and exhausted Iaquinta was seen trying to leave the cage early following the defeat. And you can’t really blame the Long Islander for taking the loss hard, as another win would’ve put him right in the thick of the championship race, which will be a lot clearer come September.
The loss, while personally devastating, won’t cripple “Ragin’ Al” because he still has a bright future and plenty left in the tank to get him to another shot at winning UFC gold. He’s still tough as nails and has power in his fists to lay out the best of them.
“So happy for Merab Dvalishvili and his dominant performance last night,” Iaquinta wrote on social media after the event. “When I have great people like this by my side, win or lose, I’ve already won.”
Up next for Iaquinta should be a showdown against Edson Barboza. “Junior” was last seen getting slept by Justin Gaethje (highlights). Iaquinta and Barboza have a lot of past opponents in common, but their paths have yet to cross. Now is as good a time as any, as both are coming off losses and will be itching to get back into the win column in a hurry.
And since both combatants only know one way to compete — to push forward and keep cracking — I envision another highly-entertaining affair with another potential “Fight of the Night” bonus winner. And a victory for either man will go a long way in putting him right back in the thick of things.
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