After spending nearly two years away from the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s octagon, “Raging” Al Iaquinta made his presence felt in less than five minutes in the co-main event of “UFC Fight Night 108” on Saturday.
The New Yorker was met in the middle of the octagon by Ultimate Fighter alum Diego “Lionheart” Sanchez in a fight that fans expected to be a back and forth war. Instead, what they got was a one-sided beatdown that saw Sanchez folded by the time the fight had ended.
Iaquinta looked in prime condition, meeting Sanchez in the middle of the octagon with no caution. Sanchez tried out his new style of fighting where he did not swing for the fences right off the bat, but a knockdown from Iaquinta would force him to resort to the Sanchez of old.
It did not pay off, however, as Sanchez was folded by another Iaquinta punch as soon as he made it back up to his feet. The referee stepped in to wave the fight off to prevent Sanchez from taking additional punishment. See what fighters had to say about the fight below:
I wonder if iaquinta went to anger management during that 2 year break
— Belal muhammad (@bullyb170) April 23, 2017
This one is gonna be a lot of fun.. Feeling like it's just gonna be an absolute brawl
— Shane Burgos (@HurricaneShaneB) April 23, 2017
Diego is the easiest fight in the division. No wonder Al came back for this one ?
— Kevin Lee (@MoTownPhenom) April 23, 2017
You gotta love the homie @DiegoSanchezUFC always from day 1 he's been it!! How many nicknames is that 4??
— Michael Johnson (@FollowTheMenace) April 23, 2017
@DiegoTheDreamNightmareLionheartYesYesNutbarSanchez – Gotta love the guy. ?
— Dan Hardy (@danhardymma) April 23, 2017
Damn
— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) April 23, 2017
Wow. Sanchez KO'd twice in one fight. #UFCNashville
— The Spartan (@EliasTheodorou) April 23, 2017
My man 50 grand. Good job Raging @ALIAQUINTA! #BlueTeam
— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) April 23, 2017
Although I love the Raging Al “you booing me? F-you” I have to do my best to avoid the 4 letter words on TV lol
— Brian Stann (@BrianStann) April 23, 2017
What’s next for “Raging” Al?
