Tag: Reebok

Al Iaquinta Absolutely Destroys Dana White In Latest Twitter Outburst

‘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

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‘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:

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:

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:

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:

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.

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Al Iaquinta Trolls Sage Northcutt In Hilarious Twitter Outburst

Only a day after he drew the attention of the MMA world by telling UFC President Dana White to ‘shut his f***ing mouth’ (among other things), rising UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta continues to go off on his employers and everyone remotely close to them. Today, Iaquinta took to his Twitter page to blast Reebok with

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Only a day after he drew the attention of the MMA world by telling UFC President Dana White to ‘shut his f***ing mouth’ (among other things), rising UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta continues to go off on his employers and everyone remotely close to them.

Today, Iaquinta took to his Twitter page to blast Reebok with some well-timed tweets full of questionable spelling, claiming the UFC’s apparel company was trying to work out some sort of deal with him:

Apparently ‘Raging Al’ thought they were against him, calling them out for choosing Sage Northcutt to be their representative instead of him and adding that he’d take out ‘little bitch’ ‘Super’ Sage:

Iaquinta then seemed to come back down to earth somewhat, actually praising Reebok’s products with more slightly ineligible words:

Sounds like he was trying to say “I’ll give that to them,” but either way, it’s more solid gold from an increasingly more notorious fighter who has become famous more for his outspoken crusade against the “Big Brother”-like UFC brass despite his actual performances in the cage, where he’s won his last five fights including four by stoppage and eight of his last nine overall.

Iaquinta returned from over two years away from the sport selling at last weekend’s UFC Fight Night 108 from Nashville, demolishing longtime fan favorite Diego Sanchez with an absolutely vicious right hook and a follow-up straight that could legitimately be dubbed the hardest punch of the year. But he was ultimately noncommittal about ever returning to the UFC after complaining about his pay for years and arguing with the company to pay for a knee surgery he had during his hiatus.

He also ‘raged’ on a good portion of the lightweight division, first calling out rising prospect Kevin Lee, whom he defeated at UFC 169 in January 2014, for not being able to throw a shot like he can:

‘Ragiing’ Al must have then caught wind that he was misspelling a few words, correcting himself with the actual name he wanted to throw Lee’s way:

He didn’t let up on Lee, either, further mocking his striking prowess:

Iaquinta then shifted his focus to Mitch Clarke, who submitted him at UFC 173 in May 2014:

He wouldn’t stop there, giving Bobby Green credit for being able to punch but calling him mentally weak in his own unique way with a sassy new hashtag:

For a man who said it was probable he wouldn’t fight again, he’s certainly calling out a lot of fighters, and for someone who has been publicly blasting his employer for years, he did something incredibly strange by offering to fight all the fighters he just trolled for free:

It wouldn’t seem like Iaquinta is truly out of the game just yet whether he likes his contract or not, and his latest rant makes it look like he wants to get hype rolling for his next bout.

With that perhaps in mind, Iaquinta had only one reaction for someone who asked him about fighting the winner of Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier at May 13’s UFC 211:

At the end of the day booking Iaquinta in a high-profile bout is probably what’s best for both Iaquinta and the UFC, because he currently looks like one of the most dangerous knockout sluggers in the extremely talented UFC 155-pound landscape, and could benefit from a step up in competition.

The company has a potential star on their hand for the rapidly-developing New York market, and all they have to do is pay him a little more money that would pale in comparison to the massive sum they paid for the UFC – and the amounts they’re saving by cutting loose a large portion of the former staff and hordes of competitors.

The UFC could kill two two birds with one stone in doing so, as well, alleviating some of the massive pressure they’re feeling from the backlash of fans that have made rating plummet during a horrific start to 2017.

But their actions would suggest they simply don’t care, so Iaquinta will most likely continue to be at odds with his bosses for the foreseeable future.

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UFC Fight Night 108 Reebok Payouts: Three Fighters Earn $20,000

UFC Fight Night 108 has concluded and the Reebok payouts are here. This past Saturday night (April 22), UFC Fight Night 108 took place inside the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The main event of the card featured a featherweight grudge match between Cub Swanson and Artem Lobov. While Lobov showed his heart, Swanson earned […]

UFC Fight Night 108 has concluded and the Reebok payouts are here. This past Saturday night (April 22), UFC Fight Night 108 took place inside the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The main event of the card featured a featherweight grudge match between Cub Swanson and Artem Lobov. While Lobov showed his heart, Swanson earned […]

UFC on FOX 24 Reebok Payouts: Demetrious Johnson Tops The List

UFC on FOX 24 is history and the Reebok payouts have been released. Demetrious Johnson Last night (April 15), the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) held an event inside the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. In the main event, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson tied a record. His 10th successful title defense matches Anderson Silva’s […]

UFC on FOX 24 is history and the Reebok payouts have been released. Demetrious Johnson Last night (April 15), the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) held an event inside the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. In the main event, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson tied a record. His 10th successful title defense matches Anderson Silva’s […]

UFC 210 Reebok Payouts: Daniel Cormier Emerges as Top Earner

The UFC 210 Reebok payouts have been released. Last night (April 8), UFC 210 took place inside the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY. In the main event, Anthony Johnson challenged Daniel Cormier for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title. Like their first encounter, Cormier was able to lock in a rear-naked choke to […]

The UFC 210 Reebok payouts have been released. Last night (April 8), UFC 210 took place inside the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY. In the main event, Anthony Johnson challenged Daniel Cormier for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title. Like their first encounter, Cormier was able to lock in a rear-naked choke to […]

Scott Coker Admits UFC-Reebok Deal Made Bellator’s ‘Phones Start Ringing’

The past few weeks have arguably been the best in company history for Bellator MMA as they attempt to become a true force able to match the UFC in the international mixed martial arts playing field. Highlights of their recent successes include the signing of top-ranked UFC competitors Ryan Bader, Loren Larkin, and Michael McDonald before

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The past few weeks have arguably been the best in company history for Bellator MMA as they attempt to become a true force able to match the UFC in the international mixed martial arts playing field.

Highlights of their recent successes include the signing of top-ranked UFC competitors Ryan Bader, Loren Larkin, and Michael McDonald before they surprised the world by unveiling their second-ever pay-per-view (PPV) event with Bellator 180 this June from Madison Square Garden in New York.

The fact that Bader, Larkin, and “Mayday” all decided to join past UFC defectors Rory MacDonald, Benson Henderson, and Phil Davis in the Bellator cage shows that the wind of MMA are truly beginning to shift. Bellator President Scott Coker detailed how they’ve made such an impact in his short tenure during an appearance on this week’s “The MMA Hour,” where he laid out his plan to both develop young talent and sign high-profile veterans from the UFC:

“I told them, ‘look, you have a good roster. It’s not a great roster, but you have a good roster, and we have to build the new guys,’” Coker said. “We went and signed Aaron Pico. We and got a couple other guys. And now, the train is gone, man. We’re signing guys like crazy, all the new prospects, the Tyrell Fortunes, Ed Ruths, Dillon (Danises) of the world. But at that time, it was really about grabbing a couple guys and let’s build these guys. Let’s go back to the basics, star identification, star building, and let’s create some stars.

“And in the meantime, just like Strikeforce, let’s go buy some free agents. Let’s go buy the guys who have recognizable names. And Phil Davis was the first one who came over, then Benson Henderson, and then the floodgates opened. And now we have a very, very good roster and I’m really proud of what we’ve done, because really, I told Spike TV, I said, ‘look, this is going to be a four-to-five-year process to get to this point, because it’s not like it was back then where Pride was gone and guys were just floating around for me to start picking them up. So, we’re going to have to build some, we’re going to have to buy some,’ and that’s really been the philosophy of Strikeforce, and it’s the philosophy I brought here. And it’s worked both times, so I’m pretty proud of that.”

He certainly has a lot of work to do and goals to accomplish before Bellator is condiered a true competitor to the UFC, but the former Striekforce leader has at least a chance to do so because of the cutthroat manner in which the UFC – both the new owners and old – do business. That is undoubtedly one of the hottest topics in MMA right now, and something Coker said was a boon to his business in two pivotal aspects:

“One was the sale of the [UFC],” Coker said. “That changed a lot, and it changed a lot for the fighters too. I think there were some bitter athletes out there saying, ‘hey, you guys got all this money, $4 billion, and we’re still stuck in this contract.’ And I think that changed people’s minds, and it made the phones start ringing.

“The Reebok deal was the original one that made the phones start ringing, and then the sale of the company, that was the next. I noticed a difference, because fighters are creatures of comfort or habit. They like to do the same routine. When they go to camp, they’re with the same guys, same family. And when the family changes, then it’s like, ‘well maybe I should go talk to my old boss, or go talk to Bellator.’ But at the end of the day, you know what it comes down to?”

Coker’s words could be a bit of an insight into many fighters’ mindsets throughout a turbulent 2016 that saw them feel both the effects of the constrictive Reebok sponsorship deal and the eye-opening $4.2 billion sale of the UFC.

The ramifications of those two sport-changing occurrences has lead to direct competition for fighters, something Coker said he detailed to Bader during his negotiations and views as an opportunity to finally pay athletes their full worth:

“I told this to (Ryan) Bader. Look, whether you stay with the UFC or you come to Bellator, it’s good for the industry, because you’re going to ultimately get paid more. You’re going to help elevate your financial situation for you and your family because you have two bidders now. If you only had one bidder, maybe you wouldn’t be getting as much as you are now. So, to me, it’s good for the industry to have somebody else out there that can pay these athletes what they deserve, and I think they’re appreciative of it. I think they see how many (UFC fighters) have come over, so it’s just making people say, ‘oh, well I should go check it out.’”

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