Video: UFC 169’s Al Iaquinta on new TV series, hope for bigger-name opponents

NEWARK, N.J. – With three straight UFC wins against opponents with a total of just five fights inside the octagon, Al Iaquinta is eager to fight someone who will light a fire underneath him.

When Iaquinta (8-2-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) was offered Kevin Lee (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) for Saturday’s UFC 169 preliminary card card at Newark, N.J.’s Prudential Center, he wasn’t entirely excited about the matchup and says he felt he deserved a bit better.

Despite that, the New Yorker outpointed Lee for a unanimous-decision victory on the FOX Sports 1-televised prelims. And with the win, Iaquinta hopes he has done enough to get a fight with a lightweight who carries more name value within the organization.

“I was 2-0 in my last two fights going into this one, and they put him in front of me, and I was kind of disappointed,” Iaquinta told MMAjunkie of Lee after the fight. “[I fought] a guy making his debut, and I’ve never heard of him before and had to look him up.

“[I want] a guy that maybe has been around a while, that will really get me amped up in the morning.”

Iaquinta was sidelined with injuries for more than one year after losing to Michael Chiesa in “The Ultimate Fighter 15” lightweight-tourament final. With two wins in just over three months, the 26-year-old wants to keep his momentum going and continue to make up for lost time.

“I’m feeling healthy, and I’ve got time to make up and just keep rolling, keep the ball rolling,” Iaquinta said. “My team’s on a good streak.”

While Iaquinta hopes to get back in the cage as soon as possible, his immediate future holds a new challenge in the form of a role in an upcoming television series. Watch him talk about his crossover into acting plus much more on his win over Lee in the video above.

For complete coverage of UFC 169, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.