‘The Liver King’ Brian Johnson has taken heat recently, but maybe none more scorching than the words from UFC fighter Al Iaquinta. ‘The Liver King’ is a buff muscle man who claimed he’s built his body eating just meats such as liver. Recently, he admitted to Performance Enhancing Drug usage, spending upwards of $10,000 a […]
‘The Liver King’ Brian Johnson has taken heat recently, but maybe none more scorching than the words from UFC fighter Al Iaquinta.
‘The Liver King’ is a buff muscle man who claimed he’s built his body eating just meats such as liver. Recently, he admitted to Performance Enhancing Drug usage, spending upwards of $10,000 a month on steroids.
The US-born UFc fighter and real estate agent Al Iaquinta commented on the situation on Twitter and said:
“If you thought liver king was natty you’re shot BUT a fun fact you may not know is that I sat behind him UFC 280 weigh ins and he smelled like absolute dog shit… guy must not have showered all year, absolute nerd.”
If you thought liver king was natty you’re shot BUT a fun fact you may not know is that I sat behind him UFC 280 weigh ins and he smelled like absolute dog shit… guy must not have showered all year, absolute nerd.
Al Iaquinta is not the only UFC personality to make comments on ‘The Liver King’ Brian Johnson. Long-time UFC commentator Joe Rogan discussed the situation on his podcast. Rogan spoke with PED expert Derek from More Plates More Dates. Derek explained:
“Most people could see through it but at the same time, a lot of big names reached out to me when the video came out and they were like, ‘I didn’t think he was natural but this guy literally right to my face would say blatantly I am natural.’ He was lying through his teeth seemingly.”
“I wasn’t surprised at all. It completely makes sense but that’s exactly what I expected. There’s no way you can look like that, in your 40s, that jacked, I mean he’s preposterously jacked.”
Former UFC interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee took a heated exchange with Al Iaquinta in an odd direction. Lee and Iaquinta fought each other two times during their respective UFC tenures. Iaquinta won both affairs by unanimous decisions in…
Former UFC interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee took a heated exchange with Al Iaquinta in an odd direction. Lee and Iaquinta fought each other two times during their respective UFC tenures. Iaquinta won both affairs by unanimous decisions in 2014 and 2018. Iaquinta recently retired from MMA following a losing skid in the UFC….
UFC veteran Al Iaquinta thinks that if a universal open scoring system was implemented across MMA, it would do more harm than good. Iaquinta has been a strong advocate for UFC fighter rights, more specifically when it comes to fighter pay. But, the former lightweight title challenger doesn’t think an open scoring system would be…
UFC veteran Al Iaquinta thinks that if a universal open scoring system was implemented across MMA, it would do more harm than good.
Iaquinta has been a strong advocate for UFC fighter rights, more specifically when it comes to fighter pay. But, the former lightweight title challenger doesn’t think an open scoring system would be a good idea.
The concept of open scoring has run rampant in public discourse following the controversial fight between Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira this past weekend. Vieira won via split decision despite getting outstruck in virtually every category by Holm.
“The smarter fighter going into the fifth round doesn’t need to know the score,” Iaquinta opined. “They know the score. If their technique and their experience and everything, their fight IQ is higher than the other fighter, you’re evening the playing field by giving the dumber fighter the scorecard going into the later rounds. Or going into any round, really.
“A fighter might come out and they might’ve thought they won, and they didn’t. Now, say I know I won the fight, I might know I lost the round, he might’ve thought I lost it too but I know I lost it and so I know I need to go hard in the third. So, I think the smarter fighter doesn’t want the other fighter to know in between rounds.”
Helwani has been a strong advocate of open scoring over the past few months and feels that it’s the best solution for a quick fix to controversial judging. On the other hand, Iaquinta isn’t sold on the idea that MMA should be treated like other sports such as baseball and football where the scores are publicized.
Iaquinta also argued that the discussion has switched to just talking about scoring rather than athletes going out and trying to finish the fight. Helwani went on to point out that an open scoring system would treat judges like umpires in baseball, with fighters getting a general idea of how each judge tends to score vs. how umpires set up a strike zone.
Iaquinta was The Ultimate Fighter: Season 15 runner-up, losing to Michael Chiesa in the finale. He went on to win his first three fights in the Octagon, including over former interim title challenger Kevin Lee.
Iaquinta has gone on to have a successful career in the cage with wins over the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Diego Sanchez, and Joe Lauzon. He has lost three in a row and seems in no rush to return to fighting.
In the meantime, the debate surrounding open scoring marches on, and it’s unclear if there will be significant changes to the current scoring system in larger promotions such as the UFC and Bellator.
Do you agree with Al Iaquinta’s position on open scoring?
Aljamain Sterling’s teammate, UFC veteran Al Iaquinta, has slammed those who can’t bring themselves to admit that they were wrong about the bantamweight champion. Following his title crowning last March, which came via disqualification after Petr Yan threw an illegal knee, Sterling spent over a year on the sidelines, a period in which he consistently…
Aljamain Sterling’s teammate, UFC veteran Al Iaquinta, has slammed those who can’t bring themselves to admit that they were wrong about the bantamweight champion.
At UFC 273 last month, “Funk Master” returned with a chip on his shoulder and a point to prove. After five rounds inside Jacksonville’s VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, the champ had proved a whole host of fans, fighters, and pundits wrong.
Now, one of Sterling’s most notable teammates has criticized those who still don’t give the champ the praise that he is due.
Iaquinta: People Still Aren’t Giving Sterling Enough Credit
During a recent appearance on The Schmozone podcast, Iaquinta, who was present in Sterling’s corner at the April pay-per-view, addressed the reaction to his training partner’s second triumph over Yan.
According to “Raging” Al, Sterling’s detractors are “grasping at straws” with their post-UFC 273 criticisms and takes.
“The guy freakin’ did it, you know what I mean? You gotta be a complex person to get to the level that Aljo is at. But a lot of people, I don’t think, are still giving him the credit, even Dana going out and saying that—whatever he said after the fight,” said Iaquinta.
“It’s like, dude, how could you ever score the fight differently? A lot of people said the first round, this and that, there’s pictures of him in the second round, mounted freakin’ body lock, triangle… There’s no picture of Aljo ever like that in the whole fight.
“If you’re gonna give the first round 10-9, the second round’s gotta be 10-8? That 10-8, there’s no way Petr Yan, in the fourth round—people are just grasping at straws. They can’t just admit that they were wrong the whole time,” added Iaquinta. “Very few people believed in Aljo the way that Aljo believed in him, the way that us in the gym saw and knew what he was capable of.”
Having proved himself right against “No Mercy,” the next step for Sterling will be a second defense of his title. While an opponent is yet to be confirmed, it seems that TJ Dillashaw and the returning Henry Cejudo are leading the charge.
Either way, one thing for certain is that Sterling will have Iaquinta and their fellow Serra-Longo teammates firmly behind his reign.
Former UFC lightweight title challenger Al Iaquinta has admitted he holds some regret over his decision to face Bobby Green for his return fight at UFC 268. After two years away from action, Al Iaquinta made a comeback to the Octagon last November. Prior to his hiatus, the New York native fell to consecutive unanimous…
Former UFC lightweight title challenger Al Iaquinta has admitted he holds some regret over his decision to face Bobby Green for his return fight at UFC 268.
After two years away from action, Al Iaquinta made a comeback to the Octagon last November. Prior to his hiatus, the New York native fell to consecutive unanimous decision losses against Donald Cerrone and Dan Hooker.
Inside the prestigious Madison Square Garden, “Raging” Al hoped to return to the win column in front of a hometown crowd. In his way of doing so was Green, a fellow veteran whose level of activity represented the opposite of Iaquinta’s across 2020 and 2021.
Having narrowly fallen to defeat against rising star Rafael Fiziev in his previous outing, “King” was also hoping for a rebound performance. With his first finish since a 2013 body kick against James Krause, Green did exactly that.
Inside the opening round, the 35-year-old dropped Iaquinta, before swarming him for the early stoppage and spoiling the homecoming.
Iaquinta: “I Should Have Picked A Different Opponent”
While Green hopes to ride the momentum from that result into his first appearance of 2022 this weekend, a main-card clash with Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 271, Iaquinta may be hanging up his gloves
Three months beyond his failed comeback, the former lightweight contender, who recorded wins against the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Diego Sanchez, and Kevin Lee during his UFC tenure, has looked back on his decision to return against an opponent as tough as Green.
“Bobby Green is a tough guy. I should have picked a different opponent than that after a two-year layoff, coming off of two losses. I’m like, I wanted the best opponent, I was like, ‘I want Bobby Green, that guy is looking good right now,’” said Iaquinta. “Looking back, I should have known. I did know he was good, but maybe we’ll take it back a notch on the competition and ease it into it a little bit. I don’t know if there are tune-up fights in the lightweight division, but I don’t know about Bobby Green.”
If this is the end for Iaquinta, while he may have regrets about his most recent opponent, Iaquinta can certainly be proud of everything he has accomplished in the UFC up to this point. Despite never having gold wrapped around his waist, “Raging” Al went five rounds with the great Khabib Nurmagomedov for the vacant belt and faced the best of the best in the promotion across his decade on its roster.
Do you think Al Iaquinta should have returned to the Octagon against a lesser opponent in 2021?
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 […]
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.
Image Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Paul has blown up in the boxing world over the last few years. He has made his way by fighting former UFC fighters such as Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. In these bouts, the former UFC fighters are reported to have made much more than they did in their time with the MMA organization.
This led Paul on his crusade against the UFC and White. He even released a “diss track” criticizing White and his low payment of fighters. Iaquinta feels that Paul’s whole charade is for self-promotion rather than helping the fighters in need.
“I don’t know how sincere it is or not, but I don’t think it can be that sincere because it hasn’t really affected him,” Iaquinta said to MMA Fighting. “If it had affected him then it would be super sincere, see I think it works for him as he’s getting promotion out of it. That video got a lot of views. I think he’s young, smart, wealthy, and he’s not bound to anything. He’s gonna be successful.”
Iaquinta was on a similar mission as Paul. He was one of the first UFC fighters to begin complaining about the payments in the UFC. Iaquinta was a perennial top ten fighter throughout most of his career. His shining moment was perhaps his UFC 223 title shot against Khabib Nurmagomedov. He later sat out two years due to contract negotiations problems and wanting more money.
(@ALIAQUINTA) December 7, 2022
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