He’s back. Following a layoff that last saw Iaquinta in the octagon in October 2019, Al Iaquinta (14-6-1) will return in his own backyard to take on Bobby Green (27-12-1) at UFC 268. The bout will take place November 6th at Madison Square Garden. The two join a stacked card featuring championship bouts between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington for the welterweight title and Rose Namajunas taking on Zhang Weili for the straw weight championship. After a brief contract delay to finalize all the details the fight is locked in, and so is Raging Al.
Iaquinta and Green were originally scheduled to fight in 2015 but Green was forced to pull out of the fight due to a torn ACL. The match up is an intriguing one with Iaquinta and Green hungry for a victory. Both fighters looking to bounce back after back to back losses, Iaquinta dropping his last two contests to Donald Cerrone and Dan Hooker and Green falling to Thiago Moises and Rafael Fiziev.
The two year layoff has been a long road for Iaquinta following a surgery on his knee to clean up scar tissue. Raging Al spent the better part of the last year getting his knee back in fighting shape, an injury that has lingered for most of his career. Battling through rehab on his knee as well as some other injuries the Serra Longo fighter has gotten back to a point where he’s feeling back to his old self, looking to make another run at the Lightweight division.
Iaquinta told The MMA Hour “ The last two that I lost there were definitely avenues were I could have won those fights, I messed up. I know I can make those corrections. I have unfinished business, this is what I was meant to do.”
It will be a highly motivated Al Iaquinta returning November 6th with a chip on his shoulder looking to send a message to the Lightweight division. A two year layoff hasn’t taken Iaquinta’s head out of the game despite debating if an early retirement was in his future. The Long Islander has taken the time to expand his fighting IQ and will look to showcase that against a veteran in Bobby Green. Buckle up Iaquinta Nation, Raging Al is back and he’s fighting just a couple minutes down the road.
Be sure to check back here for updates, interviews, and more leading up to fight night.
-Matt Pellicane
Iaquinta Nation 