UFC lightweight contender Al Iaquinta says he is interested in fighting up-and-coming standout Islam Makhachev in Moscow, Russia.
Iaquinta has been calling out Dustin Poirier for a fight but so far the UFC hasn’t booked it yet. Makhachev, meanwhile, was trying to get a fight against Kevin Lee and then Gregor Gillespie but neither of those fights came to fruition. He’s now turned his attention to Iaquinta, and it looks like the New York native is interested in the fight.
Check out the back-and-forth between Iaquinta and Makhachev on Twitter.
NY vs Dagestan gangster. I’m in for Moscow for the great fans of Russia
— Al Iaquinta🗽 (@ALIAQUINTA) February 19, 2020
Makhachev: “Hooker, Felder, Lee and Gillespie now. Hey @ALIAQUINTA I know you’re NY gangster, let me know if you’re in.”
Iaquinta: “NY vs Dagestan gangster. I’m in for Moscow for the great fans of Russia”
If this fight between Makhachev and Iaquinta goes down, it would represent a fun matchup between two of the top-15 ranked lightweights currently on the UFC roster.
Although Iaquinta is coming off of back-to-back losses to Dan Hooker and Donald Cerrone, he’s still ranked highly in the lightweight division and he’s not far removed from a big win over Kevin Lee. Iaquinta’s last few losses have taken him out of the UFC lightweight title picture for the time being, but with a few more wins could jump back into title contention. Beating someone like Makhachev would gain him plenty of clout of MMA fans.
As for Makhachev, he’s 7-1 overall in the UFC and is currently riding a six-fight win streak at the moment. In his last outing, Makhachev defeated highly-regarded BJJ specialist Davi Ramos. His only loss in the UFC came in October 2015 when he was knocked out by Adriano Martins. Otherwise, Makhachev has looked amazing in the UFC as he continues to follow in the footsteps of his friend, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Would you be interested in watching Al Iaquinta fight Islam Makhachev in Russia?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/20/2020.