Al Iaquinta (image via UFC/YouTube)

By FCF Staff

After incurring his third straight loss at UFC 268, former title challenger Al Iaquinta believes his memorable fighting career is likely over.

The 34-year-old fighter faced Bobby Green at the recent event, and was stopped in the opening round. It was Iaquinta’s fourth loss in his last five fights.

During his YouTube show since then, Iaquinta reported he doesn’t see himself fighting again (quotes via MMA Junkie).

“Fighting again? I’m thinking that’s it, man. I’m thinking that’s it,” Iaquinta said. “That’s the way to go out. Obviously you want to go out on a win, but this sh*t’s not worth it. You saw Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje fight (at UFC 268). Those guys, they beat the hell out of each other. That wasn’t worth it.”

“…It’s the first time in my career ever that I gave up in a fight. I used to watch people do that all the time, and I could never understand it. But at this point, it’s not life-changing money for me to go in there. When you’re younger, injuries happen and you heal. I’m 34 years old. You go in there, you get an injury, there’s a good shot it’s never gonna heal. Doctors, I used to think you get surgery, and they fix it. Doctors can fix anything. I don’t ever want to have surgery again.”

Iaquinta (14-7-1), who also works as a realtor, did leave the door open to fighting again. The New York resident said that if he feels “good”, and gets the “itch”, he may want to compete once more.

The last time Iaquinta won a fight was in December, 2018, when he defeated Kevin Lee by unanimous decision. That bout followed Iaquaint’s decision loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in April, 2018, which was for the vacant lightweight title.