{"id":224244,"date":"2017-02-21T10:20:52","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T18:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=224244"},"modified":"2017-02-21T10:21:35","modified_gmt":"2017-02-21T18:21:35","slug":"al-iaquinta-still-not-happy-with-ufc-contract-despite-agreeing-to-fight-diego-sanchez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/al-iaquinta\/al-iaquinta-still-not-happy-with-ufc-contract-despite-agreeing-to-fight-diego-sanchez\/","title":{"rendered":"Al Iaquinta still not happy with UFC contract despite accepting a fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the UFC made it’s long awaited debut in New York City in November, it only seemed logical that talented New York lightweight “Ragin'” Al Iaquinta would be a part of the card. Given this, it was no surprise when he was booked for a lightweight bout with Thiago Alves on the card’s prelims.<\/p>\n

It was<\/em> a surprise, however, when Iaquinta announced that he was having a contract dispute with the UFC<\/a>, and when he ultimately decided to retire from fighting and dedicate himself to a real estate career<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Given Iaquinta’s station as a top-15 lightweight, his retirement was an undeniable bummer. Luckily, it was announced a few months later that he’d squashed his beef with the UFC<\/a>, and accepted a fight with lightweight veteran Diego Sanchez on April 22.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The keyword in that last sentence, however, is “accepted.” According to Iaquinta, he has still not signed a new, more desirable contract with the UFC, and has only\u00a0verbally accepted this fight with Sanchez.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no contract signed or nothing,\u201d Iaquinta explained on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.<\/a> \u201cThey just announced the fight. Why would you do that? But I do want the fight and I think it\u2019s a good idea.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still not happy with the contract, but what the hell am I gonna do?\u201d he continued. \u201cJust sit here and do nothing? I gotta do something. I\u2019ve gotta at least fight. Nothing is gonna change. It is what it is. It sucks.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Despite the fact that he’s still not happy, Iaquinta assured that the UFC has at least made him feel appreciated again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a good talk with those guys,\u201d Iaquinta said. \u201cI was like surprised. They really wanted me to fight. They basically told me to pick whoever I wanted to fight.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAt least they made me feel appreciated, I guess. I felt like they want me to fight again.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At the end of the day, however, he’s still not sure what the future holds. Retirement is still a very real possibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said I was as close to retirement as possible,\u201d Iaquinta said. \u201cI was pretty f*cking close. And I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m still fighting. Who the f*ck knows what\u2019s gonna happen? I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Do you think the UFC should give Al Iaquinta a pay boost? Sound off, PENN Nation!<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on\u00a0<\/i>BJPenn.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0on 2\/21\/2017. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the UFC made it’s long awaited debut in New York City in November, it only seemed logical that talented New York lightweight “Ragin’” Al Iaquinta would be a part of the card. Given this, it was no surprise when he was booked for a lightweight bout with Thiago Alves on the card’s prelims. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54430,"featured_media":135618,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10523],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAl Iaquinta still not happy with UFC contract despite accepting a fight | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Despite agreeing to fight in Nashville later this year, Al Iaquinta still isn't happy with his current UFC contract, and is still considering retirement.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/al-iaquinta\/al-iaquinta-still-not-happy-with-ufc-contract-despite-agreeing-to-fight-diego-sanchez\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Al 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