Justin Gaethje appears eager to be locked in the cage with Ragin’ Al Iaquinta and has doubts that Iaquinta is up for the challenge.
Reports of the two top-10 lightweights clashing emerged last week, when Al Iaquinta revealed on his “Call Me Al” podcast that he expects the fight to be made in August:
“We’re hoping for sometime in August,” Iaquinta said. “August, September. I think they wanted it to be sooner, but like, that guy needs a rest. I was looking out for his health with that one. He needs a break for a minute.
“If it goes down the way it’s supposed to, it’ll be a good fight, a tough fight.”
Monday afternoon, however Gaethje cast doubt on Iaquinta’s words, stating that he has heard rumblings that Iaquinta will not be ready for August, regardless of the “tough” talk coming out of the Long Island Native:
Raging @ALIAQUINTA must have been trying to sound tough on his new podcast. Word on the street is he’s not ready for August #ufc #mma @ufc pic.twitter.com/qagMjw4IiD
— Justin Gaethje ?? (@Justin_Gaethje) May 28, 2018
This prompted a response of Iaquinta within hours, seemingly suggesting that he is open to fighting anywhere, anytime:
What street
— Al Iaquinta? (@ALIAQUINTA) May 28, 2018
Gaethje, showing no interest in playing games, kept his response and invitation abrupt:
Somewhere in middle America. Sign up.
— Justin Gaethje ?? (@Justin_Gaethje) May 28, 2018
Both fighters are looking to rebound from a loss suffered last month, with Gaethje falling to Dustin Poirier in yet another Fight of the Year contender for the Arizona native, while Iaquinta was the latest victim of the undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. The prospect of this bout being finalized would likely be yet another classic for Gaethje that would see one of these two fan favorites return to their winning ways.
At what event would you like to see Gaethje vs. Iaquinta take place?
