Once again Iaquinta Nation it’s fight night. For the third time in six months Al Iaquinta will step back into the octagon, this time against UFC new comer Kevin Lee. Unlike his last fight far away from home in England, this time Iaquinta will have an entire Iaquinta Nation army in his corner of friends, family, and teammates making the quick trip from New York to New Jersey. Iaquinta looks to keep the momentum going against a tough but inexperienced Kevin Lee. Continue Reading
I’ve had a lot of people asking me for a better idea on times for all of this weekends action. Here’s what we’re looking at, plan your weekend accordingly! Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Prudential Center on Saturday. All of the following will take place at Live at The Prudential Center in New Jersey.
Friday 1/31 3:00pm – Fight Club Q and A hosted by UFC light heavy weight champion Jon Jones (Prudential Center/ UFC Fight Pass online)
Friday 1/31 4:00pm- Offical UFC 169 Weigh- In, Open to Public (Prudential Center/ Fox Sports 1(check local listings)
Saturday 2/1 6:30pm – Fight Pass Early Prelims (Prudential Center/ UFC Fight Pass Online)
Saturday 2/1 8:00pm- UFC 169 Prelims: Iaquinta vs. Lee (Prudential Center/ Fox Sports 1)
Saturday 2/1 10:00pm- UFC 169: Barao vs. Faber (Prudential Center/ PPV)
Reminder if you aren’t able to attend the fight make your way to the best UFC viewing spot in town. McCann’s Pub and Grill(5590 Merrick Road Massapequa NY) will have all the fights on all 50 TV’s the building has to offer. A great sport to watch the fights, have a great meal, and a few drinks. Any additional questions email me at MattPellicane@gmail.com
Following the night after a big match up between two fighters in the light weight division Benson Henderson and Josh Thomson(both ranked in the top 5) battled it out in a very technical five round fight that most fans think Henderson stole for a controversial win. Iaquinta prepares this week for a fight in the same weight division. For Al, or any fighter for that matter you always pay attention to other people in your weight division and different match ups. Yet for Iaquinta it’s this fight in front of him. No one else. That’s all you can do is beat the guy in front of you. Take it one fight at a time and if you keep getting these important wins your stock will only rise. Continue Reading
Talk to us about your last fight going to England and fighting Piotr Hallman. Your thoughts on England and having the opportunity to fight there?
It was a great experience. It was a part of the world I probably never would have gotten a chance to see, a really awesome opportunity. It was a great fight in the octagon under the lights, against a tough opponent. The fight did a great job getting me ready for the next one.
At UFC 169 you’ll have a chance to keep this win streak going taking on new comer Kevin Lee. What are your initial thoughts on what you’ve seen from him so far?
He has a lot of amateur experience just like I did. He’s got a long reach, good stand up, and a decent wrestling background. At the end of the day I don’t think he’s faced the same quality of guys that I have.
Lee has won his last three fights by way of submission. How will this change your approach if at all?
I’ll look at what he does and be prepared for it. Otherwise I’m working on my game and fine tuning everything that I do well, making sure I bring my best game into the octagon.
It’s difficult getting into someone else’s head, but do you think a young 21 year old Lee will have a difficult time adjusting to a big stage on National TV?
It can be, it really depends on the person and how they react to it. Regardless all I can do is prepare the best I can and expect that he’ll be ready to go.
“At the end of the day I don’t think he’s faced the same quality of guy’s that I have.”
Injuries canceled your fight at UFC 159. Now you have another opportunity to fight locally in front of friends, family, and teammates. How important is that for you after traveling so far from home for your last two fights?
The support I’ve gotten from my friends and family is really awesome. They always get together to watch the fights, being able to have them there live is great. I’m lucky enough to always have friends and family attending my fights, having it so close will hopefully get a lot of people down who can’t normally make it. It’s great having them there to support me and watch my back.
Your TUF coach Urijah Faber was just added to the UFC 169 card to fill in for the injured Dominick Cruz and fight Renan Barao for the Bantamweight title. What are your thoughts on that fight?
It’s an awesome opportunity for him, he’s had an unbelievable year. I think his hard work will pay off and he’ll come home with the strap.
You we’re just recently out in California for several weeks training with Urijah Faber and Team Alpha Male. Tell us about that experience and having the opportunity to train with those guys.
They have a bunch of great guys to train with right around my weight. Everyone who trains there has a great attitude, they’re a pleasure to train with. They’ve given me some great tips to add to my game that I’ll carry into this upcoming fight.
Any additional thoughts or comments?
Thank you everyone for the support, looking forward to the fight in a few weeks. Hope you all can make it to the Prudential Center. Follow me on Twitter @AlIaquinta, IaquintaMMA.com, or right here at Iaquinta Nation!
-Matt Pellicane
On Febuary 1st Al Iaquinta will once again step back into the octagon for the third time in six months. This time around his opponent will be UFC new comer Kevin Lee. Iaquinta will look to give the undefeated Lee a very unfriendly welcome to the UFC as he looks to make it three wins in a row, his first of the new year.
Iaquinta comes off yet another impressive performance against another undefeated fighter Piotr Hallman. Al traveled all the way to England for the fight and continued the same momentum from his previous fight against Ryan Couture, putting in an impressive performance for a unanimous decision win. Another opponent that was considered to be a tough challenge, resulting in another win for Iaquinta. Continue Reading
Happy to announce my next fight will be against Joe Proctor will be at UFC 159, April 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey!!!
Stay tuned for more info, training blogs and giveaways leading up to the fight!
When you have some time check out some great interviews Al did yesterday. The first podcast can be listened to HERE and is with MMA Mental. Al talks about his injury, the finals, future opponents, MMA in New York, and much more. Click on podcast on the right side, the interview is about half way through the podcast. The second interview can be found HERE and is with The Real MMA today. The interview is right at the beginning of the show. Make sure you check both interviews out for some more insight into whats going on with Al, and how soon you’ll see him back in the octagon. Big thank you to MMA Mental and The Real MMA Today for having Al on both of their shows.
Tomorrow night Al’s coach from this season of The Ultimate Fighter Urijah Faber will take on Renan Barao for the interim Bantamweight Championship. The fight was originally scheduled to be between Faber and the coach that opposed him during the show, and current UFC Bantamweight Champion Domminck Cruz, but Cruz was forced to withdraw from the fight after tearing his ACL. Cruz will likely fight the winner of this fight once he’s ready to return to the octagon. Just as all of Iaquinta Nation has shown Al support in all his fights, make sure you support the California Kid Urijah Faber this weekend in a big Bantamweight title fight. Here’s Al’s fight predictions for UFC 149. Lets hear your predictions.
Urijah Faber vs. Renan Barao (Faber)
Hector Lombard vs. Tim Boetsch (Lombard)
Cheick Kongo vs. Shawn Jordan (Kongo)
Brian Ebersole vs. James Head (Ebersole)
Chris Clements vs. Matthew Riddle (Clements)
Photo by UFC
When you have some time take a look back at all of Al’s exciting fights from this season on the Ultimate Fighter TUF Live. You can watch each full episode on Ultimate Fighters website and relive all the action. Watch Iaquinta vs. Jury the three round fight that won fight of the season, Iaquinta vs Ogle the fight that won Iaquinta knock out of the season, as well as Iaquinta vs. Pichel in the semi finals. The website has some other great interviews with Al as well. Enjoy re watching all of Iaquinta’s fights and look forward to seeing him fight again in the near future. If you have any questions about any of the fights feel free to post them in the comment section below.Thank you for watching and for all of the support.
Watch Iaquinta vs. Jury HERE ( Just for fun here’s the crowd reaction after the fight at McCann’s Pub and Grill)
Watch Iaquinta vs. Ogle HERE
Watch Iaquinta vs. Pichel HERE
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
Iaquinta Nation 