Al Iaquinta believes he’ll be better prepared if he got another crack at Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Back in April 2018, Iaquinta took on Nurmagomedov on short notice. “Raging” was set to meet Paul Felder at UFC 223, while Nurmagomedov was initially scheduled to meet Tony Ferguson. When Ferguson pulled out due to an injury, “The Eagle’s” new opponent was Max Holloway. “Blessed” was forced to halt his weight cutting and couldn’t compete, therefore Iaquinta stepped up. “Raging” lost the bout via unanimous decision.
Iaquinta Wants Another Chance To Fight Khabib
Iaquinta was a guest on Submission Radio. On the show, he explained why he feels he can do far better in a rematch with Nurmagomedov (via The Body Lock):
“Now I know I’m ready. I don’t make the same mistake twice, never. I think that things would be a lot different even if I did get to fight on a day’s notice, it’d be way different. I wasn’t really training for a wrestler [at UFC 223]. I think my wrestling is up there, especially with my timing with the takedowns. There was a few times where I even got in on Khabib and I didn’t follow through. It’s only going to take a few more changes to really make that fight a big difference. The one thing will definitely be the confidence in my cardio to go five rounds because now that would be an advantage.”
Iaquinta is set to clash with Donald Cerrone on May 4. The bout is scheduled to headline UFC Ottawa. MMA News will provide live coverage of the event when fight night rolls around.
