Tag: Al Iaquinta

Things didn’t go Al Iaquinta’s way the first time around when he stepped into the Octagon against Khabib Nurmagomedov.

However, as he tells Submission Radio, should he get that opportunity against the undefeated “Eagle” a second time around, things would play out “way different” (via BodyLockMMA):

“Now I know I’m ready,” Iaquinta added. “I don’t make the same mistake twice, never. I think that things would be a lot different even if I did get to fight on a day’s notice, it’d be way different.”

Iaquinta claimed he wasn’t really training for a wrestler before April 2018’s UFC 223. He said that led to him not taking advantage of opportunities to take Khabib down:

“I wasn’t really training for a wrestler [at UFC 223]. I think my wrestling is up there, especially with my timing with the takedowns. There was a few times where I even got in on Khabib and I didn’t follow through. It’s only going to take a few more changes to really make that fight a big difference. The one thing will definitely be the confidence in my cardio to go five rounds because now that would be an advantage.”

Iaquinta stepped in against Khabib and took the fight on short notice for the vacant 155-pound title. He was able to show some good work against Khabib, going all five rounds with the current 155-pound champion. Many fans have suggested a rematch between the pair would be very interesting, especially if Iaquinta got a full training camp.

Predicting Khabib vs. Poirier

Iaquinta knows interim champ Dustin Poirier is next for Khabib, however. He offered his thoughts on why ‘The Eagle’ will be a much tougher challenge than Poirier’s last opponent Max Holloway was:

“Never say never but I would think Khabib with the wrestling, that’s a huge X-factor,” Iaquinta said. “That’s something Max didn’t really have. Even when you’re just worried about the wrestling, that opens up Khabib’s striking.

“His striking is good, he’s got a unique style, he knocked Conor down. You would never think that would happen but it was really set up all because of his wrestling. He’s got a couple of different layers to his game and that’s a huge problem to deal with.”

If he can continue his impressive run after his recent victory over Kevin Lee in December, Iaquinta might be receiving that lightweight title opportunity sooner rather than later.

The post Al Iaquinta Breaks Down How Khabib Will Beat Poirier appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Al Iaquinta thinks that he can dethrone UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov if he gets a second fight.

Iaquinta stepped in on short notice to take on the undefeated champ in the headliner of UFC 223 last April. As many believed would happen, Khabib ended up winning the fight along with the undisputed UFC lightweight title.

For the top contender, he stated in a recent interview that he blames his performance in the fight due to the lead-up. He was originally supposed to fight for three rounds not five at this show. Thus, if he gets a second fight booked, then he can train for five rounds.

“I didn’t really want to exert myself like crazy because I had been sparring three rounds, and at the end of the three rounds I was getting pretty exhausted,” he said BJPenn.com Radio. “It was uncharted territory. Now, five rounds is to my advantage. The longer the fight goes, the better it is for me. I think that it’ll be an advantage now rather than, being five rounds that fight [with Nurmagomedov], it was a little bit of a disadvantage.”

Iaquinta was scheduled for a three-round fight against Paul Felder at the show but was canceled due to the changes made to the card. For him, if he can have a 10-week training camp for Khabib then he thinks his performance would improve.

“If I had even just like five weeks to prepare,” he said. “But if you gave me a 10-week camp for a Khabib fight, and I had the time to prepare for him, for his style, prepare my mind. Obviously, he would be doing the same thing, but I think that I would make way more of an improvement than he would.”

Iaquinta already has his next fight booked as he’ll take on Donald Cerrone in the headliner of UFC Ottawa on Saturday, May 4, 2019, at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario.

The post Al Iaquinta Thinks He Can Dethrone Khabib If One Thing Happens appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.