Al Iaquinta Record: 14-7-1

Rise up the lightweight ranks

Iaquinta found his footing in the UFC proper with decision wins over Ryan Couture and Piotr Hallmann in 2013, followed by a unanimous-decision win over a young, unbeaten Kevin Lee in February 2014. After a submission loss to Mitch Clarke, his power took over: he stopped Rodrigo Damm and Ross Pearson by TKO in late 2014, then opened 2015 with a second-round TKO of veteran Joe Lauzon and a split-decision win over Jorge Masvidal.

The Khabib title fight and later career

After a hiatus spent building his real estate business, Iaquinta returned in April 2017 with a brutal first-round knockout of Diego Sanchez. His signature moment came at UFC 223 in April 2018, when he stepped in on short notice to challenge unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title, going the full five rounds in a unanimous-decision loss. He rebounded with a five-round win in his rematch with Kevin Lee in December 2018, then dropped decisions to Donald Cerrone and Dan Hooker in 2019. A grappling-match loss to Mike Perry at Submission Underground 11 in February 2020 closed out a memorable stretch of his career.

Fighting style

Iaquinta was a classic boxer-wrestler: a sturdy, pressure-based striker with genuine one-punch power and a wrestling base that kept fights where he wanted them. His 14-7-1 record carries a 57% finish rate, with seven of his wins by knockout – the clear hallmark of his game – against just one submission and six decisions. He was at his best landing compact, heavy hands and grinding out rounds, as the Pearson, Lauzon and Sanchez finishes showed. His vulnerabilities were on the ground, where three of his seven losses came by submission, and against the elite movers of the division, where his forward style could be out-pointed over 25 minutes, as it was against Khabib, Cerrone and Hooker.

Career highlights

• UFC lightweight title challenger — fought Khabib Nurmagomedov for the championship at UFC 223 on short notice, lasting all five rounds against one of the sport's all-time greats.
• Knockout artist — seven of his wins came by KO/TKO, including highlight-reel stoppages of Diego Sanchez and Joe Lauzon.
• The Ultimate Fighter standout — reached the TUF Season 15 finale and parlayed it into a long UFC run while building a parallel real estate career on Long Island.