Prior to his bout against Donald Cerrone this past May, Al Iaquinta had been on the campaign trail to fight Conor McGregor. At the time, Iaquinta and McGregor were ranked beside one another in the lightweight rankings, but after losing to Cerrone, Iaquinta fell to #6 with McGregor now three spots ahead of him at #3. But this setback for Iaquinta changed nothing, as Iaquinta explained why a fight between himself and McGregor would be the most logical out of any other potential matchup:
“That would make the most sense out of everything,” Iaquinta told TMZ. “He’s coming off a big loss. He got finished by Khabib and he had all the time in the world to prepare for that fight. I took the fight on a day’s notice and I showed my toughness. We’d still be fighting right now if there was no ref. If there was no time on the fight, I’m fighting forever. I’m fighting till I die. Conor’s not doing that. So I mean, I think that’s the fight that really makes the most sense, but he’s selling whiskey and he’s doing other things.”
UFC President Dana White has disclosed that Conor McGregor is looking to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov in a rematch from their UFC 229 bout. Iaquinta does not see this request as a hurdle to an Iaquinta/McGregor bout being made:
“I don’t think he’s getting a rematch because there’s guys that are working their way back, guys that are getting wins,” Iaquinta said. “His stock’s not as high as he thinks it is. He got finished in his last fight. As far as everyone’s concerned, he’s dead. The ref had to pull the guy off him. He looked like a sissy tapping out like that. So he’s gotta come back and get a win, and he’s not doing it. And if he does get a rematch, he’s gonna get beat again. It’s gonna be the same thing. That’s a fight that you need heart for, and he doesn’t have it.”
Do you believe a fight between Conor McGregor and Al Iaquinta makes sense right now?
