“Raging” Al Iaquinta will take on “Platinum” Mike Perry but not in the setting you may be expecting. Iaquinta will meet Perry in a grappling contest at Chael Sonnen’s Submission Underground. The match will take place February 23rd at the Roseland Theater in Sonnen’s hometown of Portland Oregon. Sonnen held several of these events from July 2016 to April 2018. This will be the first event since that April. Submission Underground (SUG) is a submission only format with the rules being similar to those familiar with Eddie Bravo’s “Eddie Bravo Invitational. The organization has raised a significant amount of interest with grappling and MMA fans and competitors. SUG 11 will be headlined by a Tag Team match between Nick Rodriguez and Craig Jones taking on Vinny Magalhaes and Kyle Boehm. Continue Reading
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Once again Iaquinta Nation it’s Fight Night. The UFC 243 Co-Main Event is one that has fans from Long Island New York to Melbourne Australia excited. “Raging” Al Iaquinta will take on Dan “The Hangman” Hooker in a dynamic lightweight bout. Both fighters have something to prove, looking to do so in front of what will be crowd of almost 60,000 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. Dan Hooker will look to build momentum following a knockout win over James Vick, as well as send a big statement in attempting to score a win over Iaquinta. An important matchup for Iaquinta as well as he looks to bounce back following a loss to Donald Cerrone, putting himself back in the Lightweight Title conversation. Continue Reading

Photo Courtesy of MMA Fighting
Although the Middle Weight championship fight between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya has all the makings of a classic, the Co-Main event for UFC 243 has sparked a significant amount of interest of it’s own. “Raging” Al Iaquinta will take on New Zealander Dan “The Hangman” Hooker in front of 60,000 fans at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne Australia. The fight will be LIVE on PPV and ESPN+ this Saturday October 5th at 10PM EST.
Dan Hooker enters the fight with his stock potentially at it’s highest. Although he suffered a TKO loss to Edson Barboza he responded strongly with a knock out win of his own against James Vick. Hooker has shown knock out power but brings a strong submission game to the table as well. His game continues to improve every time he steps in the octagon. Like his opponent Iaquinta both competitors love to fight and always deliver strong performances on fight night. Continue Reading

Photo Courtesy of MMA Fighting
We’re getting closer to UFC 243 and Iaquinta vs. Hooker! UFC always does a great job covering it’s fighters leading up to fight night. Here’s a few must watch videos to hold you over. Watch Al on UFC 243 Countdown shot right in his backyard on Long Island, as well as the UFC Embedded series. Check back here leading up to the fight for any other pre fight videos. As always thank you for reading and watching. Al appreciates all the support.
It’s been an interesting path leading up to Fight week for Al Iaquinta vs. Dan Hooker at UFC 243. Starting with Hooker calling out Iaquinta after a knockout win over James Vick, followed by speculation if the fight would actually happen. Through some confusion Hooker appeared to be under the impression Iaquinta wasn’t actually interested in the fight. Hooker said via Twitter “UFC told me you turned down the fight. Quit acting like you want to fight me, you don’t.” He went on “If I’m lying the fight would be booked already. Put up or shut up.”
The New Yorker Iaquinta is never one to back down from a fight. “I really don’t think he expected me to say okay” Iaquinta told Matt Serra and Jim Norton on the UFC Unfiltered podcast. Meanwhile Iaquinta had verbally told UFC he wanted the fight creating some disconnect between both sides. Iaquinta went on “Lets go, you want it I’m giving you what you want and I’m going to make you pay for it.” Continue Reading
Following his knock out win over James Vick, Dan Hooker let it be known he was looking for a top tier opponent in the lightweight division. “I feel like Al Iaquinta’s the one that makes sense. That name definitely stands out to me.” Through some confusion Hooker appeared to be under the impression Iaquinta wasn’t actually interested in the fight. Hooker said via Twitter “UFC told me you turned down the fight. Quit acting like you want to fight me, you don’t.” He went on “If I’m lying the fight would be booked already. Put up or shut up.” Well, ask and you shall receive. News broke late Sunday night that both fighters had verbally agreed to the bout scheduled for October 5th in Melbourne Australia. Continue Reading
Once again Iaquinta Nation it’s fight night, and an exciting one at that. In tonight’s UFC Fight Night main event it will be “Raging” Al Iaquinta taking on Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Where both have expressed a mutual respect for one another it will be all business when the cage doors lock. Both fighters know just how important this bout is in regards to another shot at lightweight gold.
It’s two very intriguing paths that Iaquinta and Cerrone are currently on. Cerrone the well known gritty veteran. A competitor that all fight fans know, respect, and enjoy watching. The UFC’s all time win leader holding victories over some of Mixed Martial Art’s best. He’s fought on short notice, in two different weight classes, won several post fight bonuses, and fought for a title multiple times. Yet the knock on Cowboy has always been his inability to come through in the “big fight”. With all that in the past, THIS is now that next big fight. If Cowboy wants another opportunity to fight for a title it starts with the tough New Yorker Iaquinta. Continue Reading
Yesterday on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show Al Iaquinta said he had been assured by UFC his next fight would be a “big one”. Twenty four hours later it would appear that to be true. News broke Tuesday afternoon that Iaquinta (14-4-1 MMA, 9-3 UFC) had agreed to fight Donald Cerrone (35-11 MMA, 22-8 UFC). The fight will take place May 4th at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The fight will be live on ESPN +. Both sides have verbally agreed to what would be the main event on the card.
“Raging” Al Iaquinta comes off a strong five round unanimous decision win over Kevin Lee, which moved him further up the lightweight rankings. Most recently, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone returned to lightweight for the first time since 2015 recording at TKO win over Alexander Hernandez.
It’s no secret the lightweight division has several question marks centered around the suspensions of Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov as well as former champion Connor McGregor. Both Iaquinta and Cerrone had lobbied for a matchup with Connor McGregor. Yet with a potential fight between McGregor and Cerrone, as well as a fight between Iaquinta and Tony Ferguson both falling apart it would leave the “Brooklyn Gangster” Iaquinta to take on “Cowboy” Cerrone.
The fight has the makings to be an exciting one. Cowboy currently ranked #9 recently said he wanted someone in the top 5 of the division. He gets just that in Iaquinta currently ranked #4. For Iaquinta an opportunity to record a win over a big name and veteran in the sport as both fighters look to continue to climb the ranks, working towards UFC gold.
-Matt Pellicane
When the rankings came out on Tuesday The UFC lightweight division would see a few changes. Iaquinta moves to 4th, breaking into the Top 5 for the first time in his career. Raging Al recorded a unanimous decision win over Kevin Lee Saturday night, now winning six of his last seven. The win would jump Iaquinta in the rankings from 8th to 4th. Outside of the move in the rankings the hard fought win over Lee continued to open up eyes in the mixed martial arts world. The misconception of real estate agent/part time fighter has faded away. Not only has the narrative changed but it’s Iaquinta who’s in the conversation to potentially challenge for the lightweight belt once again. Continue Reading
Once again Iaquinta Nation it’s Fight Night. Tonight from Milwaukee Wisconsin and LIVE on FOX it will be “Raging” Al Iaquinta taking on Kevin “The Motown Phenom” Lee in the main event of UFC Fight Night. The history between these two has been discussed in depth throughout the week. That history starts with Iaquinta recording a unanimous decision victory over Lee four years ago. A loss that has remained on the mind of Kevin Lee throughout the years. Neither competitor has been shy in voicing their opinions of one another. Where both have evolved into two of the top lightweights in the division, one important aspect hasn’t changed. These two men have a very legitimate hatred for one another. Where a mutual respect exists from both professionally, personally is a much different story. This bad blood will come to a head once and for all tonight in Milwaukee. Continue Reading