For those hoping to see Al Iaquinta return to the UFC’s octagon this summer, it doesn’t seem likely to happen.
Although nothing is official, UFC has discussed the possibility of the UFC returning to Long Island for the July 17 Fight Night. With Iaquinta unsure about the future of his fighting career, he was asked on The MMA Hour on Wednesday what the chances would be that he would return to competition on that card if it was close to home.
“Slim to none,” Iaquinta told Ariel Helwani.
When Iaquinta was asked whether that meant he had stopped competing, he said that he wasn’t prepared to land either side of the fence.
“I don’t know, man, I don’t know,” Iaquinta said. Let’s keep doing the same .”
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Iaquinta most recently competed in November at UFC 268, where he was stopped by Bobby Green via first-round TKO in what was his third straight loss. The 35-year-old hasn’t tasted victory since earning a unanimous decision against Kevin Lee in the main event of UFC on FOX 31 in December 2018.
Although he isn’t actively looking for fights, Iaquinta continues to be busy in his real estate business and as a corner support system for his fellow fighters. Aljamain Sterling was defeated by Petr Yan in a split decision at UFC 273.
Earlier this week, Sterling was honored in the Long Island area with “Aljamain Sterling Day,” which was quite the site to see, according to Iaquinta.
” It was crazy,” Iaquinta said. “We went through all of the towns, ended up at Uniondale High School, it was awesome to see.
“That guy, after 13 months of what that guy went through, when the other guy knees him in the head and all of these fans come after him — and I love him because he just keeps poking at them a little bit and keeps them going — and the way he went out there, I mean everyone thought he was [going to get] killed that fight. He was acting, everyone said that he was being killed. That first fight was not a true representation of Aljo, and he’s still getting so much better. It’s scary. He was out 13 months, that’s a long layoff, and did you see how quickly he took Petr Yan’s back?
“But Aljo was loving everybody, and this is a guy who deserves it.”
