Check out UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta's favorite fights of all-time
Al Iaquinta is always down for a scrap.
We asked him what some of his favorite fights over the years were and he provided his reasoning for picking the following five fights (and one honorable mention).
Take a look at his list below and make sure to check each fight out on UFC Fight Pass.
Nick Diaz vs Robbie Lawler
UFC 47
Nick Diaz approaches Robbie Lawler in their UFC 47 bout.
Nick Diaz approaches Robbie Lawler in their UFC 47 bout.
“It’s two of my favorite fighters when they were younger and just getting their start. The knockout was pretty crazy at the end and unexpected. I think it really put Nick Diaz on the map. Everyone knew how good Lawler was, but it really opened a lot of people’s eyes to how great Diaz was.”
Don Frye and Yoshihiro Takayama punch either in their PRIDE: 21 Demolition bout.
“It was just the craziest start to the fight. The first exchange was a constant exchange of punches, they were just whaling on each other, no defense, just absolutely going at it. It sticks out in my head and was just a crazy war.”
Jens Pulver punches Takanori Gomi at PRIDE: Shockwave 2004
“An absolute display of boxing from two of my favorite lightweight fighters. I was an amateur fighter at this point, looking up to these guys. I was getting into boxing and I knew that they both had good wrestling backgrounds, but they turned into boxers and showed incredible technical boxing.”
Jonathan Wiezorek charges Wade Shipp in the opening moments of their UFC 47 bout.
“This is a very underrated fight that nobody knows about, but also one of the most entertaining fights that I’ve ever seen in the UFC. I’m not going to say their skill set was the highest caliber, but holy s*** is it entertaining. You can’t even do it justice by giving a description, it’s just mayhem. You have to watch it from the beginning. I don’t really remember them doing anything significant, but I remember buying the DVD and we watched it with a bunch of people and we still talk about this fight to this day. It’s stuck with me.”
Kevin Randleman slams Fedor Emelianenko at PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004.
“Randleman is an absolute animal. He picks Fedor up, slams him on his neck and then Fedor comes back and gets the win. Fedor is like Khabib Nurmagomedov; he would just steamroll people but sometimes he would come back and get the finish and, in this case, he gets a submission. He’s just a legend and no fighter should have a list without Fedor on it.”
Al Iaquinta and Kevin Lee react after the conclusion of their lightweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Fiserv Forum on December 15, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“It’s always good to see Kevin Lee get his ass kicked and it’s better when it’s you.”