The jury remained out on Al Iaquinta after his UFC 229 performance against Khabib Nurmagomedov on April 7.
Iaquinta didn’t back down from about as tough a task as you can ask in this sport: taking on one of the sport’s greatest fighters, the undefeated UFC lightweight champion who runs over opponents, on just 24 hours’ notice.
“Raging Al” went the distance with the champ in Brooklyn, putting in a credible performance that helped underscore his Serra-Longo gym’s already legendary toughness.
But was it truly a performance which announced his arrival as a real contender in the lightweight division?