Al Iaquinta has shared his take on what the UFC should change about its bonus system.
Much has been made about the UFC’s deal with cryptocurrency company, Crypto.com. It is reportedly a $175 million deal. It’s been said that fighters will not be receiving a direct cut of the deal but can work with Crypto.com independently and get paid becoming brand ambassadors.
With fighter pay once again becoming a hot topic in the world of MMA, Iaquinta has a suggestion. Speaking to Chris De Santiago of MMA Island, “Raging” Al discussed how he would change the UFC’s bonus system.
“The bonuses should be $100,000 always now for just a finish. $100K for a finish, that’s what it should be. With this new sponsor they got, this crypto nonsense, throw in a couple bitcoin…you knock someone out, you get a couple bitcoins. F*ck it.”
Iaquinta went on to talk about who he would like to share the Octagon with next.
“A Nate Diaz fight at 170, that’d be cool. I’d be down for that. And then I think right now, at this point, Tony Ferguson seems like it might make a little sense. He had a couple tough fights, I had a couple tough fights, he’s always dangerous, always tough, so I think that that would be a fight that would interest me, for sure.”
Iaquinta hasn’t competed since October 2019. He suffered a unanimous decision loss to Dan Hooker in his last outing. When Iaquinta eventually returns to the Octagon, he’ll want to avoid the first three-fight losing streak of his pro MMA career.
The names that Iaquinta mentioned are also going through a skid. Nate Diaz has lost two in a row at the hands of Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards. Ferguson has fallen short in his last three fights against Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira, and Beneil Dariush.
