Don’t forget to watch Al on a new episode of TUF Live tonight at 10 PM on FX. Tune in and find out who will be the last fighter in the quarter finals, Andy Ogle or Mike Rio. Well also find how the next few weeks will be laid out in regard to the quarter and semi finals. Things are about to get very interesting make sure you tune in.
This weeks interview is with Vic Torres Jr. Al and I had the pleasure of having Vic as our captain when we were freshman wrestling at Wantagh. Vic was a great teammate and leader who we all learned a lot from. He is an incredible husband and father, as well as an outstanding trainer and fighter. In 2010 Vic was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. He’s going to be doing a walk for MS and “Team Torres” this Sunday. I thought this would be a perfect time for Vic to talk about his experience with MS, tell us about the walk he’s participating in, and get his input on Al as well. I really appreciate Vic doing this interview with me and I urge everyone to donate in any way you can to the cause. Continue Reading
This week’s interview is with Al’s training partner and friend Marcel Robin. Marcel is a great guy and I consider it a privilege to call him a good friend of mine as well. Marcel, who graduated from East Meadow high school in 2005 has been training with Al for the past six years. He has an interesting perspective not only being a teammate of Al’s but also one of his best friends. I appreciate him taking some time to do this interview and all his great insights. Continue Reading
Photo by UFC
This week I had the pleasure of sitting down with Al’s dad, Jay Iaquinta. Jay is an outstanding football coach a dedicated Physical Education teacher, as well as a great husband and father. While he’s coached at Lynbrook High School as well as SUNY Maritime, he’s spent the past twenty two seasons coaching football for Hewlett high school. In that time Mr. Iaquinta has won the Nassau County Championship in 1999, as well as winning the Big Four Champions 11 of the past 15 years. Jay recently retired after 34 years of teaching physical education at Lynbrook High School. A big thank you to Mr. Iaquinta for taking some time to sit down with me an answer some questions. Continue Reading
Photo via TUF Twitter
Yesterday Al wrote something very interesting on his twitter which was great, yet simple advice for whatever your career may be. He wrote “ The best days of my life and the worst days of my life have come from this sport. Whatever your dream is pursue it.” Not to get too deep but life isn’t always easy. You may have a goal in mind and encounter some road blocks along the way. If you have a dream, and something you feel passionate about you shouldn’t let anyone stand in your way. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices, which is exactly what Al and everyone else in the TUF house is doing right now. Continue Reading
Photo by UFC
If you haven’t seen the full episode of Iaquinta vs. Jury or you just want to watch all the excitement again check it out right HERE via UltimateFighter.com Big thank you to The Ultimate Fighter website for posting the episode. Be sure to check back here all week for updates, a new interview, and much more. Also a reminder to please contact me if you’re interested in picking up the official Iaquinta Nation T-Shirt!
Offical Iaquinta Nation T-Shirt
There’s been a lot of people asking me about Iaquinta Nation T- Shirts over the passed few weeks. If everything goes to plan with the good people at Fed Ex I should have the shirts tomorrow. Please message me on Twitter, Facebook, or email me at Mpellica@nyit.edu if you’re interested. In the message let me know how many shirts you want and what sizes. Shirts are going to be $20. This first order is just T-shirts but the next one I’m going to get tank tops for the summer as well. I’ll keep you all posted on that. A big thank you to Justin Browne for creating the Iaquinta Nation design. The shirts(shown below) have the Iaquinta Nation blog header on the front, Serra Longo Fight Team on the side of the shirt, and #TeamIaquinta on the back. Simple, to the point, and a great way to show some support for Al. Put your orders in now and I’ll get you your Iaquinta Nation T-shirt ASAP!
-Matt Pellicane
(Left to Right) Matt Serra, Ray Longo, Al Iaquinta, Eric Hyer
While discussing the great training behind Al Iaquinta in the past weeks there’s two names that are always a staple in the conversation. Those names are Ray Longo and Matt Serra. Yet there’s one name that should be thrown in the mix that is equally important and that’s Eric Hyer. Eric is Al’s Muay Thai coach, and has been a critical part of helping Al improve his game over the years.
Once again a very special thank you to everyone who came down to McCanns Friday night to watch Al’s fight especially everyone from the Serra Longo Fight Team. Just like last time the McCanns crew worked their asses off and didn’t disappoint. I hope everyone had an awesome time. Don’t forget McCanns is the number one spot to watch all UFC PPV’s and every episode of TUF Live.
It’s really great to have a prime location for everyone to get together and support Al. Even though he doesn’t know about it now, believe me he appreciates it, and it means a lot to him. If you weren’t able to make it down to the bar Friday Night here’s some pictures.
Last but not least check out this great VIDEO by AJ Ingrilli giving you a look into the crowd reaction during the decision Friday Night!
Photo by UFC
If you haven’t had a chance to read today’s paper yet make sure to check out Al in Newsday HERE! Al talks about his fight from Friday night, life in the house, and even a minor injury no one knew about. Some great direct quotes from him as well so make sure you take a few minutes and give it a read. As always a big thank you to Mark La Monica for his hard work.
Iaquinta Nation 