In life we all set goals for ourselves. We set them high, work hard, and do everything in our power to be successful. Sometimes that success comes with great sacrifice. It may mean a dramatic change in your life. It could mean taking time away from friends, family, and loved ones to work on accomplishing those goals. Unfortunately sometimes life can be tough and you can get thrown a curveball. Sometimes as hard as you work things just don’t always go according to plan. It’s frustrating, it’s unfair, and sometimes it’s heart breaking. What we all have to remember is achieving a goal isn’t always easy. We all get knocked down sometimes. The most important thing is getting back up, and continuing to embark on that journey, following your heart, and continuing to strive to accomplish all those goals. Yes, Friday night Al Iaquinta got knocked down, but believe me when I tell you he’ll be right back up, working even harder. Al Iaquinta isn’t going anywhere, he’s going to be in this business for a long time. Continue Reading
Mike Chiesa
All posts tagged Mike Chiesa
After a great run on this season of The Ultimate Fighter TUF Live, Al Iaquinta fell just short Friday night in the TUF Finale against Mike Chiesa. Iaquinta looked sharp early, but Chiesa was able to take his back and secure a rare naked choke with 2:37 left in the first round. Iaquinta never taped, forcing Herb Dean to stop the fight. Check back here for a season ending recap tomorrow. As far as Al goes just a minor bump in the road. This is only just the beginning of what will be a great career for him. Congratulations to Al on an incredible season. All his family, friends, and Iaquinta Nation couldn’t be prouder of him. We all look forward to seeing his next fight. Thank you to all of Iaquinta Nation for the support, and everyone back in NY who came to McCann’s Friday night to watch the fight. Much more to come tomorrow.
I wanted to remind everyone to come down to McCann’s Friday Night to watch Iaquinta vs. Chiesa in the TUF Finale. As always McCann’s will offer an open bar(9:00-12:00 Top shelf, no shots, and some appetizers as well.) Check out some more details on Facebook HERE. McCann’s has been the number one spot to watch all of Al’s fights throughout this season. We want all of Iaquinta Nation to come down to McCann’s once again and represent #TeamIaquinta during the Finale. Well also have a small film crew from Ring Fever coming down to check out all the excitement and even hear from all of you. Let’s get as many people to McCann’s as possible to show them how dedicated and supportive all of Iaquinta Nation is. We hope to see you all there, and remember even if you aren’t doing the open bar please come down, enjoy the fight, and show some support.
-Matt Pellicane
It’s been three long months but this Friday Night will conclude this season of the Ultimate Fighter TUF Live. It will be Al Iaquinta against his former Team Faber teammate Mike Chiesa in what has the makings of a great final fight to cap off the show. Both fighters have worked hard and overcome different types of adversity to get to this point. It’s been great for all of Iaquinta Nation to come along for the ride, supporting Al every step of the way. We’ve all felt like we’ve been right in there with him every single fight.
Continue Reading
Check out the final edition of “Anik Attack” featuring UFC’s Jon Anik. Watch the video HERE where Anik discusses both Chiesa and Iaquinta’s Semi Final Fights, and looks ahead to their match up against each other. As always some interesting insights from Jon about both Iaquinta and Chiesa. Enjoy!
After a big win over Vinc Pichel last night, Al Iaquinta is headed to the TUF Finale. Once again Al will have to fight a teammate and friend Mike Chiesa. A big congratulations to Al and good luck in the Finale next Friday. Full episode recap coming here soon. Look for coverage for Iaquinta vs. Chiesa all week, including an interview with Al himself who has recently been connected back with the world. Once again thank you for all the support and a huge thank you to everyone who came to McCanns last night. Another awesome crowd as always.
Two very exciting fights with what many felt surprising outcomes this passed Friday night. With two fights scheduled for the night, the episode only had a small amount of pre recorded material from during the week. Domminick Cruz briefly spoke about his fighter James Vick and the serious amount of potential a lot of people don’t realize he has. Vick, who is tall with heavy hands could be in the finals according to Cruz, who feels he has a very bright future. Continue Reading
Sleep Eat Train, Sleep Eat Train, Sleep Eat Train. When this and basically this alone is all your life consists of for thirteen to fifteen weeks it can be a true test on any persons patience. Mix in the stress of national television, seclusion from the real world, and put a six figure contract on the line, and you’re going to have a person that’s on his way to driving himself crazy, assuming he hasn’t reached that point all ready. Continue Reading
Check out Al in a new version of “TUF Talk” HERE, as he answers some great questions about his trainers, potential quarter final opponents, and much more. As always a big thank you to Mark La Monica for setting these awesome interviews up. If you have any questions you would like Al to answer send them to Mark via twitter (@LaMonicaMark). Check back here throughout the rest of the week for updates, interviews, and be sure to get in touch with me and get your official Iaquinta Nation T-shirt!
This weeks episode got right back into all the action from the Iaquinta Jury fight. Dana White offered some of his thoughts on last weeks battle. He touched on Jury’s ability to “land some good knees, was hitting head kicks at will.” He discussed Al hitting some big shots of his own, constantly moving forward, pushing the pace. The action made for an exciting first round that White thought although it was very close, Jury edged out. He went on to discuss that he was impressed by both fighters in the second round including the big knee by Jury, as well as the even bigger right hand by Al. He felt Al without question won the second. White spoke about the importance of the sudden victory third round. “The 3rd round is Holy Shit, I just got another opportunity to show I want to be here” White explained. Dominick Cruz spoke about Jury in the third round and how he “had never had a grinder fight like this.” He went on to explain how in a fight like that forward pressure is everything. If you don’t throw first you can wind up loosing. Both White and Cruz felt Al controlled and pushed the entire pace of the third round to secure a victory. Continue Reading