Al Iaquinta is pulling for Conor McGregor and believes he has a shot at beating Floyd Mayweather. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight will keep a close eye on the “super fight” set for Aug. 26 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Raging” told MMAJunkie.com that “Notorious” may be flustered by Mayweather’s defense: “(McGregor)’s […]
Al Iaquinta is pulling for Conor McGregor and believes he has a shot at beating Floyd Mayweather. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight will keep a close eye on the “super fight” set for Aug. 26 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Raging” told MMAJunkie.com that “Notorious” may be flustered by Mayweather’s defense: “(McGregor)’s […]
With the UFC’s rough start to 2017 now almost in the middle of June, the topic of just how bad the year is for the UFC is not only an oft-discussed talking point, but it has become a brooding specter of uncertainty at this point, one that could ultimately spell doom for the outfit that […]
With the UFC’s rough start to 2017 now almost in the middle of June, the topic of just how bad the year is for the UFC is not only an oft-discussed talking point, but it has become a brooding specter of uncertainty at this point, one that could ultimately spell doom for the outfit that has led MMA for so long.
The reasons why this unfortunate circumstance is becoming clear are many, and indeed they’ve been brewing for several years in more than one instance. The fact that the company is under new ownership after Hollywood talent giant WME-IMG purchased the UFC for a record-breaking $4.2 billion last July is obviously a huge motivating factor why the UFC is failing, but there are many others that only speed up that process.
Several MMA pundits have predicted grey skies for at least the immediate future of the UFC, and it’s hard to predict a quick turnaround for the promotion in the final seven months of the year, even if at least a few big fights are on the horizon. What’s more, there are even a few more ominous signs that suggest the new owners are possibly running the world’s biggest MMA company into the ground for good.
Let’s take a look at the biggest reasons why the UFC is spiraling downward rapidly.
5. Dana White’s Strong-Arm Tactics:
There’s no denying that White, alongside with his childhood friends and Las Vegas casino moguls Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, saved MMA and the UFC from dying off when they purchased the company back in the late 20th century. They then parlayed that gamble into one of the most lucrative rags-to-riches (figuratively) stories in combat sports, turning MMA into a worldwide phenomenon while making the UFC one of sports’ most coveted properties by the time it reached its height in 2016.
A lot of that financial success was built on paying fighters the bare minimum, however, and that fact was effectively kept under wraps when the Fertittas were in charge, but absolutely exploded on to the forefront of most MMA discussion when WME-IMG bought it for a seemingly ludicrous $4.2 billion last year.
But White, who was kept on as president and the company’s public face, has recently seen this strong-arm strategy backfire in his face and in no small way. His messy feud with dominant flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson that recently spilled over into the media is the most glaring – and poignant – example.
Fighters aren’t going to take whatever scraps the UFC offers them now that they know how much they’re really worth, and while they’ve failed to effectively organize in any lasting form to this point, White’s bullying clearly isn’t going to scare today’s fighters into signing whatever is put in front of them and their managers.
Vinc Pichel is back and he’s eyeing a rematch with Al Iaquinta. Last night (June 10), Pichel returned to mixed martial arts (MMA) competition after being away for three years. His return was a success, knocking out Damien Brown in the first round. Speaking to the media after his win, Pichel said he wouldn’t mind […]
Vinc Pichel is back and he’s eyeing a rematch with Al Iaquinta. Last night (June 10), Pichel returned to mixed martial arts (MMA) competition after being away for three years. His return was a success, knocking out Damien Brown in the first round. Speaking to the media after his win, Pichel said he wouldn’t mind […]
Al Iaquinta didn’t walk out of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) Athlete Retreat feeling any better about the promotion. It’s no secret that Iaquinta has been outspoken on his opinion of how the UFC handles their fighters. The 11th ranked lightweight hasn’t been happy with his pay and has been dabbling in real estate. Iaquinta […]
Al Iaquinta didn’t walk out of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) Athlete Retreat feeling any better about the promotion. It’s no secret that Iaquinta has been outspoken on his opinion of how the UFC handles their fighters. The 11th ranked lightweight hasn’t been happy with his pay and has been dabbling in real estate. Iaquinta […]
Sorry Al Iaquinta, but Tony Ferguson isn’t taking your call. “El Cucuy” still awaits an opponent, but Iaquinta has tried ruffling some feathers recently. Ferguson has heard the trash talking on social media, but he isn’t interested in a potential bout with “Raging.” During a recent appearance on MMAFighting.com‘s “The MMA Hour,” Ferguson said he […]
Sorry Al Iaquinta, but Tony Ferguson isn’t taking your call. “El Cucuy” still awaits an opponent, but Iaquinta has tried ruffling some feathers recently. Ferguson has heard the trash talking on social media, but he isn’t interested in a potential bout with “Raging.” During a recent appearance on MMAFighting.com‘s “The MMA Hour,” Ferguson said he […]
Al Iaquinta has been on a Twitter campaign lately to get into the Octagon with Tony Ferguson – but it seems as though “El Cucuy” isn’t interested. Iaquinta took to The MMA Hour last week to continue to call-out Ferguson, calling the former Ultimate Fighter Season 13 (TUF 13) winner a ‘bi*ch’: “Tony Ferguson, you’re […]
Al Iaquinta has been on a Twitter campaign lately to get into the Octagon with Tony Ferguson – but it seems as though “El Cucuy” isn’t interested.
Iaquinta took to The MMA Hour last week to continue to call-out Ferguson, calling the former Ultimate Fighter Season 13 (TUF 13) winner a ‘bi*ch’:
“Tony Ferguson, you’re a little b*tch. I’ll f*cking knock you out so fast, you f*cking p*ssy.”
Ferguson got the opportunity to respond to Iaquinta’s call-outs in his own interview on The MMA Hour, stating that he didn’t even know Iaquinta was calling him out until some fans alerted him (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“I had nothing but respect for Al for a long time, and I’m not really going to disregard it, but when he says ‘f*ck Ferguson’ or something like that, at least have the balls to tag me in it,” Ferguson said. “If you’re going to f*cking say something like that, tag me in that b*tch. Point and clear, if you can’t say something to my face, at least tag me in the motherf*cker and I don’t want to hear it from other people.”
Ferguson then stated that he doesn’t want an ‘easy fight’ but instead requests to step into the Octagon against someone who is ‘worth it’:
“I don’t know, maybe he talked to the guys over at the UFC retreat,” Ferguson said. “He’s trying to promote himself, trying to make it big. You’ve never heard this dude, not one time, call my name out. I’ve never called his name out. So obviously somebody got to him. So regardless, if he wants to fight, I’m not going to back down from a fight, but I already offered somebody a fight (Nate Diaz) and I’m not trying to go backwards. I’m moving forwards. I’m a champ. I’m a superstar. And I move like a superstar in that Octagon, and I expect somebody to move like that when they signed that dotted line with me.
“Don’t give me an easy fight. I want somebody that’s worth it, that’s put in their time and put in the amount of effort. It’s not just about knockouts, son. This is mixed martial arts. It’s about finishing people. It’s about putting in that time, putting in all five rounds.”
“El Cucuy” is currently on a nine-fight win streak and was previously scheduled to meet fellow top-ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 209 on pay-per-view (PPV) for the interim 155-pound title, however, the Russian was forced to pull out the day prior to the event due to being hospitalized during his weight cut.
Ferguson was prepared to fight Nate Diaz at UFC 213 but The Stockton Native refused the fight, leaving Ferguson without an opponent for the foreseeable future:
“Let’s go for a title fight, man,” Ferguson said. “I’m nothing f*cking selling nothing for no title. Give me my title shot. Give me my interim. You want to give me an interim belt? Give me an interim belt. You f*cking give, I don’t know who else, an interim belt. Come on, Dana. Let’s go, kid. Let’s make some money. Let’s put this sh*t on paper. Let’s go. Let’s give the fans what they want, a bloody bloodbath. Let’s give them sharp Tony Ferguson elbows coming down like a batarang, man. The D’arce Knight coming at your ass.”
The No. 2-ranked lightweight knows Nurmagomedov is currently unavailable to fight right now due to his religious responsibilities with Ramadan, but he’d very much like the opportunity to fight “The Eagle” at a later date seeing as they have unfinished business:
“I’m about to buy him a gift card for Dolce Diet,” Ferguson said. “I’m about to tweet his ass and say, ‘hey fatty, you pick up a dietician yet?’ Because your ass needs to start worrying and thinking about me and start thinking about your future, because if you say that you’re not going to retire, the Boogeyman ain’t going nowhere, buddy. F*cking Baba Yaga is coming after your ass. I’m the new John Wick still, and I don’t forget about that, because we got unfinished business. But that’s at a later date. He’s not open, because he’s a little b*tch. He doesn’t want to fight before Ramadan. So, I’m not giving him any [criticism] for his religion, I’m not saying anything, but afterwards, I can’t wait. Let’s go. I want some of him.”
Ferguson is also disappointed in the fact that he has yet to hear from UFC President Dana White since everything that went down in Las Vegas during UFC 209:
“That was it,” Ferguson said. “There’s no, ‘hey Tony, how’s it going? How’s the kid? How’s the family?’ There’s no, ‘how’s everything going? I know you didn’t do too good on that last fight with Khabib. You know what? Hey, let me show you something.’ There’s nothing like that. There’s no communication on there.
“So, for me, I’m not going to stay busy like that, because I didn’t just get here doing and waiting around for people to do something for me. You get that? I’m a businessman, so I’m going to stay busy no matter what it is. And as far as the fight game goes, I got great management — obviously you know that — so we’re going to handle business the way we have to. And, man, Dana, let’s go, guy. Give me a fight, man. There’s some asses that need to be whooped.
“Don’t forget about your other fighters, Dana. Don’t keep me on ice. Why, dude? Come on, baby. I’m TUF 13 champ. I’m from home camp, bro. Let’s go. Home team, Dana. Let’s go. Chop chop, Louie. Give me a fight, kid.”
The No. 2-ranked lightweight knows Nurmagomedov is currently unavailable to fight right now due to his religious responsibilities with Ramadan, but he’d very much like the opportunity to fight “The Eagle” at a later date seeing as they have unfinished business: