Al Iaquinta (photo via UFC)

By FCF Staff

Justin Gaethje has incurred his first two losses of his career, after arriving in the UFC, and Al Iaquinta believes “The Highlight’s” style is a key reason why.

For several years now, Gaethje has been known as one of the most aggressive and rugged lightweights in the sport. In 2017, the former WSOF champ signed with the UFC, and Gaethje proceeded to stop Michael Johnson in his Octagon debut. Since then, however, Gaethje has been taken out in consecutive fights against Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier.

Up next, Gaethje will take on Iaquinta at UFC Fight Night 135, August 25th. The latter recently appeared on “The MMA Hour”, and while discussing Gaethje’s approach, Iaquinta said this (quote via Bloody Elbow):

“I think [his style has] come back to haunt him more in the UFC than not,” Iaquinta said. “That’s like a coin toss of a style. You just go kamikaze, let’s go. I think I’m just more tactical, more gamplan-oriented. I just feel like, I don’t know — I don’t know if there’s a gameplan going into his fights. Does his coach talk to him about a gameplan, like, ‘This is what you’re going to do?’ Because he does the same thing every fight. There’s no difference compared to the opponents he fights, so it’s just, you’ve got to make little adjustments.”

Iaquinta, meanwhile, is coming off a decision loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 in April.