Al Iaquinta knows he’s one of the best lightweight fighters in the world, and he doesn’t need to look at the number next to his name to know it.
The New York native, who faces Dan Hooker in the co-main event at Saturday’s UFC 243, didn’t hesitate to accept the bout despite the UFC rankings, which say he’s No. 6 opposite Hooker’s spot at No. 15.
An unfortunate side effect of the UFC ranking system is fighters constantly jockeying for position in hopes of gaining recognition with the promotion, not to mention no defined system in place to determine how exactly title contention can be achieved.