Al Iaquinta returned from a two-year layoff to knock out Diego Sanchez in 98 in the co-main event of Saturday's UFC Fight Night 108 in Nashville. The fun was only the beginning.
Iaquinta (13-3) who initially retired from the sport in 2015 feeling like he should be getting paid more than his $26,000 to show and $26,000 win bonus. He went into selling real estate and at the end of last year decided he was going to return to fighting. After knocking out Sanchez, Iaquinta who earned his fifth consecutive win, when interviewed by Brian Stann didn't take long to continue his frustration with the UFC.
"The quicker the UFC realizes I'm the man the better we'll all be," Iaquinta said before ending the interview giving an infomercial on his real estate business.
The performance made it seem certain Iaquinta would receive a 'Peformance of the Night' bonus. He didn't receive one, and decided to vent his frustration.
The UFC returns to his home state of New York for UFC on Fox 25 at the end of July in Long Island. While it would look to be a good place to return, the Ray Longo trained fighter doesn't know if what he's getting paid is worth the hassle of going through another training camp just to fight on his home soil.
“I don’t know if the money’s worth everything I go through to do this,” Iaquinta said to MMA Junkie in a post-fight interview. “It worked out tonight, but it’s not going to be that easy. There’s a lot of years lost that I’m not making any money, and I’m not making sponsorship, and I’m in the video game, and I haven’t gotten a dollar for it.”
