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Conor McGregor isn’t the only fighter to recently bash the upcoming “BMF” title fight between welterweight fan favorites Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal this November at UFC 244.
Former UFC lightweight title challenger Al Iaquinta, who will meet Dan Hooker in the co-main event of UFC 243 this weekend in Melbourne, Australia, also discussed the new “BMF” belt and what it means to the sport of fighting.
While Iaquinta agrees that Diaz and Masvidal are two very tough veterans who carry themselves like the “baddest motherf—kers” on the planet, the New York native isn’t ready to crown either fighter the “BMF” king. Instead, that title deserves to go to the real division champ, according to “Raging Al.”
“I don’t know, I think the toughest motherf*cker is the champ, the real champ,” Iaquinta told MMA Fighting.
“I don’t know, it’s a little weird that they’re actually going to put a belt on somebody that’s not the champ, but those are two bad motherf*ckers, so it’s whatever. It’s not my thing, I’m more of a traditionalist, the champ is the champ. I would feel very disrespected as a champion if they were putting a belt on someone else in my weight class.”
Despite his disapproval for creating a belt that can’t a hold a candle to a real UFC title, Iaquinta is happy to see former lightweight standout Masvidal doing so well at 170 pounds. Remember, Iaquinta holds a victory over “Gamebred” after defeating the Miami native via split decision back in 2015. In hindsight, that was one of the most impressive wins of Iaquinta’s UFC career.
“He’s always been a tough guy, he’s always been tough so he’s finally getting the credit that he deserves and I think he’s found something new at 170,” Iaquinta said. “I think he enjoys being a little bigger and not cutting so much weight and depleting himself. It’s more like he’s just street fighting, I think that’s more his kind of thing. He gets in there, he doesn’t cut too much weight and I’m happy that he’s found a lot of success there.”
Masvidal has certainly shined in his last two outings — producing back-to-back knockouts in the very first round — and deserves all of the attention he’s been getting over the past several months. Maybe “Gamebred” will even pay the good fortune forward and cheer on Iaquinta when he takes on Hooker this weekend in Melbourne.
UFC 243 will go down tomorrow night (Sat., Oct. 5, 2019) live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Marvel Stadium and feature a main event title fight between current UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and interim king Israel Adesanya.
To find out who else is competing at UFC 243 click here.