Al Iaquinta still isn’t chummy with the folks at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). When “Raging” announced his return to the Octagon, many thought he patched things up with the UFC. Iaquinta went on a hiatus because he was unhappy with the amount of money he was making. He returned last month and starched Diego […]
Al Iaquinta still isn’t chummy with the folks at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). When “Raging” announced his return to the Octagon, many thought he patched things up with the UFC. Iaquinta went on a hiatus because he was unhappy with the amount of money he was making. He returned last month and starched Diego […]
Al Iaquinta has been on a Twitter tirade against the UFC as of late for not giving him a bonus for his knockout win over Diego Sanches at UFC Nashville. ‘Raging’ has been telling some crazy stories about his working relationship with the UFC, but one UFC official tells MMA Junkie that those simply aren’t
Al Iaquinta has been on a Twitter tirade against the UFC as of late for not giving him a bonus for his knockout win over Diego Sanches at UFC Nashville.
‘Raging’ has been telling some crazy stories about his working relationship with the UFC, but one UFC official tells MMA Junkie that those simply aren’t true:
“The stories he’s telling are not true,” the official said. “The premise for his whole beef is not accurate, and I think he’s trying to justify the fact that he thinks he should still get bonuses.”
The UFC official also confirmed that Iaquinta’s fight against Sanchez was the first of a three-fight ban in which he is not eligible for win bonuses.
This is a result of three separate instances in which Iaquinta has caused problems for the promotion. First off he destroyed an MGM Grand hotel room in Vegas after his UFC 183 win over Joe Lauzon. Second, he cursed on live TV at the crowd following a controversial split decision win over Jorge Masvidal.
And last, but certainly not least, he skipped the 2015 UFC fighter summit in Las Vegas. Iaquinta claims he warned the UFC he would not be attending, but the UFC official says that’s not true:
“His story about the summit, the part that he left out was that he never called us to tell us he didn’t get on the plane,” the UFC official said. “He never called us to tell us not to send a car to the airport to pick him up. We had all these arrangements for the hotel. All these things were arranged, and he never bothered to call us to tell us he wasn’t coming, which I think would make anyone mad.
“We sent a car to the airport to pick him up, and he wasn’t there. He never called us to say, ‘I’m not coming.’ Not calling us, not telling us that he wasn’t going to show up, having to send a car to the airport to pick him up, literally, and him not being there – how immature is that? To not call and say, ‘I didn’t make the flight. I’m not coming.’ It’s immature.”
Iaquinta comes off of a lengthy two-year layoff in which he wasn’t on the best of terms with the UFC. He was also kept out-of-action due to a lingering knee injury, which he claims he needed to beg the UFC to pay for.
Again, the UFC official claims that to be a lie as well:
“It was a chronic injury, and since it was a chronic injury and not something that happened while training or fighting for us, the insurance denied it,” a UFC official said. “There were also a number of alternatives that could have been done, but Al insisted on using a specific surgeon back east. The UFC paid tens of thousands of dollars to cover that out of our pocket without any obligation to do so since it was a chronic injury, which means it happened over years and years and years.
“Mr. Iaquinta never once called the medical team or (UFC President) Dana (White) to say thank you. Instead, he talks about how he had to beg for it, which is not true. … We agreed to do it. We paid for it. The entire medical team assisted through his surgeon getting this done and getting it paid, and Al never once called anyone to thank them. Instead he goes out on the Internet and says he had to beg for it, which is absolutely, 100 percent false. That’s a lie.”
Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
The relationship between Iaquinta and the UFC continues to prove to be a rocky one, and the UFC official says once ‘Raging’ begins to take responsibility for his actions things will get a whole lot better for him:
“Dana, (former UFC co-owner) Lorenzo (Feritta) and our team worked for weeks on this thing and were able to get him the surgery, and it was successful; instead of thanking us, he goes on the Internet and taunts Dana, who paid for it,” a UFC official said.”I think when Al learns to take responsibility for his actions, he’ll be a lot better off as a person.”
After hearing little to nothing for two years from surging lightweight Al Iaquinta, the brash East Coast-bred slugger has exploded back onto the MMA scene with one the most controversial crusades against the UFC we’ve ever seen. After he went off on Dana White, Sage Northcutt, and others in a brutal Twitter rant last week, “Raging”
After hearing little to nothing for two years from surging lightweight Al Iaquinta, the brash East Coast-bred slugger has exploded back onto the MMA scene with one the most controversial crusades against the UFC we’ve ever seen.
After he went off on Dana White, Sage Northcutt, and others in a brutal Twitter rant last week, “Raging” Al hopped back on social media to demand his employers at the UFC to release him after their well-documented squabble over his pay:
It would appear “Raging” Al isn’t going anywhere, and at this point, it’s also hard to deny that he’s one of the most outspoken and entertaining personalities during a bland start to the year, whether you love him or hate him.
And with five straight wins including four knockouts, the promotion could certainly use more stars who can back up their over-the-top trash talk with powerful statement wins in the octagon. The UFC’s new ownership may want to swallow their pride and pay Iaquinta a few more dollars to keep his mouth shut, but as we’ve seen recently, they’re not too keen on spending cash on any employee of the company.
If they want to keep that up, then we’ll probably see Iaquinta’s online outrages continue.
Al Iaquinta has an impressive five-fight win streak in the UFC’s ultra-competitive lightweight division. But he isn’t happen. And when a New Yorker isn’t happy, he isn’t quiet about it either. On Twitter Thursday, Iaquinta called out the UFC and his bosses, asking for them to “cut me you sissys.” @UFC cut me you sissys […]
Al Iaquinta has an impressive five-fight win streak in the UFC’s ultra-competitive lightweight division. But he isn’t happen. And when a New Yorker isn’t happy, he isn’t quiet about it either. On Twitter Thursday, Iaquinta called out the UFC and his bosses, asking for them to “cut me you sissys.” @UFC cut me you sissys […]
‘Raging’ Al Iaquinta just won’t stop doing exactly what his nickname insists. After the embattled lightweight contender got into a hilarious back-and-forth social media war with Mike Perry yesterday, Iaquinta didn’t stop there. Ready to take the gloves off and take his employers and several UFC fighters to task, Iaquinta tweeted he had taken Dana
‘Raging’ Al Iaquinta just won’t stop doing exactly what his nickname insists.
After the embattled lightweight contender got into a hilarious back-and-forth social media war with Mike Perry yesterday, Iaquinta didn’t stop there. Ready to take the gloves off and take his employers and several UFC fighters to task, Iaquinta tweeted he had taken Dana White’s position as UFC president and would be fighting Cub Swanson at Nassau Coliseum, a bout where White would be serving hot dogs and beer:
As new president of the UFC I'm announcing cub Swanson vs me at Nassau colliiseum
When Iaquinta learned that Swanson was injured after his five-round bout with Artem Lobov last weekend, he then shifted his callout to former WSOF champ Justin Gaethje, who is currently negotiating with the UFC:
Cub Swanson injured! Very unfortunate… We will be reaching out to Justin Gaethje… tremendous fighter!
But Iaquinta’s crusade against White was far from over, as he trolled the polarizing UFC exec by posting his Men’s Fitness cover with a caption insisting White was never a warrior like the many employees he supposedly takes advantage of:
Iaquinta then took the UFC’s uniform deal with Reebok on, noting that while they make great apparel, the company wasn’t happy with the deal due to the nonstop bad press about their company:
Reebok has great footwear and apparel! They are not happy re @UFC deal. Too much bad press!
He then insisted Reebok was not happy with the once-touted UFC prospect Sage Northcutt, who has lost two out of his last three fights by submission, something that was allegedly brought on by White bringing him up too fast according to Iaquinta:
Reebok is not happy about signing sagenorth cut! he will not produce.. Dana ruined him… no development… SAD! https://t.co/XbVeC4EjOB
So Iaquinta won’t quit going off on anyone and everyone in his division – or even up one or two – and it looks like he’s starting to game notoriety as the MMA version of Donald Trump.
At this point it would seem he’s doing it on purpose to drum up a reaction, good or bad, after a two-year hiatus from the fight game where he became a real estate agent.
But now he’s back in full force, while only time will tell if his brazen, over-the-top style will get him one of the big fights he’s constantly calling for on social media. As we’ve seen in the past, however, going head-on and bucking horns with White rarely works out for anyone, especially fighters.
The friction between Al Iaquinta and Mike Perry continues to build up. It all started at UFC Nashville last week when ‘Platinum’ took home a post-fight bonus award for his vicious finish over Jake Ellenberger, as opposed to Iaquinta who made quick work of Diego Sanchez after a two-year layoff. Following the event Iaquinta expressed
The friction between Al Iaquinta and Mike Perry continues to build up.
It all started at UFC Nashville last week when ‘Platinum’ took home a post-fight bonus award for his vicious finish over Jake Ellenberger, as opposed to Iaquinta who made quick work of Diego Sanchez after a two-year layoff. Following the event Iaquinta expressed a great deal of displeasure with the UFC’s bonus criteria, expletively calling out the promotion itself, UFC President Dana White, and innocent bystander Sage Northcutt.
Enter Mike Perry, who felt as though it was his obligation to stand up for the promotion that has treated him so fell lately. Perry called out Iaquinta for his complaints on Twitter and continued to his rant against ‘Raging’ on an episode of The MMA Hour.
Yesterday (Sat. April 29, 2017) the pair continued to go at one another’s throats, which ended with Iaquinta telling Perry to tell his ‘girlfriend’ Dana White to book a bout between them:
As previously mentioned, both men come off of great knockout wins. Iaquinta is currently on a five-fight win streak following his win over Sanchez, which include wins over Jorge Masvidal, Joe Lauzon, and Ross Pearson.
Prior to his win over Ellenberger, Perry came off of his first career mixed martial arts (MMA) defeat to Alan Jouban via unanimous decision. ‘Platinum’ has finished all of his wins in MMA competition via knockout.
Would you like to see a bout between Iaquinta and Perry? Who do you think would walk away victorious in the potential bout?
