Major contract issues keeping Iaquinta from fighting at UFC 205
A proud New Yorker, Al Iaquinta has always wanted to fight in front of his hometown fans.
When a bill was passed to legalize MMA in New York this past April, it seemed inevitable that Iaquinta would be booked for the upcoming UFC 205 show on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden.
Instead, Iaquinta has declined a rumored bout with Thiago Alves due to contentious contract negotiations with the UFC. The 29-year-old lightweight has been out of action with a knee injury for the past 17 months, limiting his income opportunities and bringing to light existing problems with his current deal.
"I got the contract and I was just looking at it for a couple of days. I was like I just can't sign it. I can't do it," Iaquinta told Damon Martin of FOX Sports. "I felt like it wasn't right. I talked to my manager, I said listen I really want to fight in New York. There's nothing I want to do more than fight in New York, but I can't take a pay cut for this fight.
"I'm taking a pay cut from all of my sponsors. I'm taking a pay cut of all the last 18 months of the sponsors that could have been. I told (my manager) that I wanted more. I wanted to have a conversation with the UFC and see if they would do some kind of negotiation because when I signed my contract, there was no Reebok deal."
According to Iaquinta, the UFC's deal with Reebok that forbids fighters from wearing any other sponsors on fight night has greatly hurt his finances. Going into his 10th UFC bout, Iaquinta would receive $5,000 in Reebok sponsorship money if he fought Alves. That's less than he used to make from a single sponsor.
As medical bills and other expenses piled up, it became clear that Iaquinta would need to renegotiate his contract. The UFC is under no obligation to accommodate such requests, as Iaquinta discovered when he spoke to officials.
"I don't think they were really entertaining any negotiations whatsoever," Iaquinta said.
Iaquinta's relationship with the UFC is marked with several prior incidents in which his temper got the best of him, including a memorable, curse-filled rant on live television after he was booed for winning a close decision over Jorge Masvidal last April. Officials decided to punish Iaquinta by making him ineligible to receive a fight-night bonus for his next three bouts, a significant penalty, considering a bonus results in a $50,000 check for the winners.
These recent troubles have led Iaquinta to putting a greater emphasis on his personal training and real-estate work outside of the UFC. At some point, he will be forced to choose between maintaining that steady stream of income or putting it on hold to continue his potentially costly fighting career.
"If anything were to happen, there would be nothing left. It scared me," Iaquinta said. "Even if I do win, I'm going to have to fight again in a couple of months. Am I going to be able to walk up a flight of stairs with my kids when I'm older? Am I going to be able to play with them? Probably not. Is it worth this money? No."