Late last year, New York’s Al Iaquinta withdrew from the stacked UFC 205, citing a contract dispute with the UFC. This dispute continued over the coming weeks, until Iaquinta opted to hang up the gloves, and focus on a burgeoning real estate career.
Thankfully for Iaquinta fans, this retirement was short-lived. Over the weekend, the New Yorker returned to the cage to become the first man to legitimately knock out Diego Sanchez, putting the veteran down with punches in the first round.
As exciting as Iaquinta’s return was, however, it is not an indication of an improved relationship with the UFC.
In the wake of his win, Iaquinta has blasted the UFC, Dana White, Reebok, and others in the media and on his social media accounts. On Tuesday night, this trend continued, as he targeted fellow UFC lightweights Kevin Lee and Sage Northcutt, the UFC, Reebok, and others.
Regrettably, the only one of these Tweets that remains is a jab at Lee, who will fight Michael Chiesa in the main even of the UFC’s June trip to Oklahoma City. According to Iaquinta, Lee can’t throw a punch to save his life.
https://twitter.com/ALIAQUINTA/status/857021177688141826
The other Tweets from Iaquinta’s Tuesday night onslaught targeted a “little bitch” Sage Northcutt, a “little bitch” Mitch Clarke, and Reebok, who apparently called him in an attempt to squash his beef with them. All of these Tweets have since been deleted. While there are screenshots floating around the internet, we have decided not to share them out of respect for Iaquinta.
On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Iaquinta explained that his fighting future is uncertain as ever, admitting that it could be some time before we see him in the cage again.
What do you think of Al Iaquinta’s very public beef with the UFC, Dana White, Reebok, and apparently, many of his lightweight peers?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/26/2017.