Al Iaquinta goes off on the UFC after missing out on post-fight bonus

Over the last few months, New York based lightweight Al Iaquinta has been involved in a very public contract dispute with the UFC. This dispute was severe enough to drive the lightweight into a temporary retirement, during which time he focused solely on his burgeoning real estate career.

Despite this quarrel with the UFC, Iaquinta ultimately agreed to fight again – though his relationship with the UFC has not improved much. His opponent in his comeback fight was The Ultimate Fighter season 1 winner Diego Sanchez. The pair met in the co-main event of the UFC’s Saturday night trip to Nashville, Tennessee.

Iaquinta’s comeback fight couldn’t have gone better, as he thumped the veteran Sanchez to a dominant, first-round knockout, first putting him on spaghetti legs with a punch, then removing his batteries altogether with a followup punch. With this win, which extended his streak to five, the New Yorker would seem to have burst back into lightweight title contention.

Apparently, however, it’s not all sunshine and daisies for Iaquinta.

Shortly after learning that he would not be receiving a post-fight bonus – bonuses instead went to main-eventers Swanson and Lobov, rising flyweight star Brandon Moreno, and polarizing knockout artist Mike Perry – Iaquinta went off on Twitter, addressing the UFC directly.

Hey @ufc go fuck yourself

— Al Iaquinta (@ALIAQUINTA) April 23, 2017

This place is getting wrecked

— Al Iaquinta (@ALIAQUINTA) April 23, 2017

Fuck you https://t.co/UoGqPspJAw

— Al Iaquinta (@ALIAQUINTA) April 23, 2017

Needless to say, Al Iaquinta is not pleased.

Whether he deserved a post-fight bonus, of course, is up for debate. Swanson and Lobov certainly earned one for their main event war, while Moreno dazzled with his rear-naked choke, and Perry’s defeat of Jake Ellenberger was a verifiable knockout of the year contender. What is clear, however, is that Iaquinta is probably ready for a shiny new contract. He’s earned it, and giving him a pay boost would probably make life a lot easier for the UFC PR department.

Clearly, “Raging” Al Iaquinta is not afraid to speak up.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/23/2017.