As a proud New Yorker, there’s nothing Al Iaquinta wants to do more than face Thiago Alves this November at UFC 205.
But he can’t.
Iaquinta, who has battled injuries over the course of his Octagon career since finishing as runner-up on The Ultimate Fighter, recently told FOX Sports that his current contract just isn’t cutting it.
“I got the contract and I was just looking at it for a couple of days. I was like I just can’t sign it. I can’t do it. I felt like it wasn’t right. I talked to my manager, I said listen I really want to fight in New York. There’s nothing I want to do more than fight in New York, but I can’t take a pay cut for this fight,” he said. “I’m taking a pay cut from all of my sponsors. I’m taking a pay cut of all the last 18 months of the sponsors that could have been. I told (my manager) that I wanted more. I wanted to have a conversation with the UFC and see if they would do some kind of negotiation because when I signed my contract, there was no Reebok deal.”
Iaquinta (12-3-1) has been out of action since earning a split decision over Jorge Masvidal early last year. He has taken up a job selling real estate in New York to make money.
