Fighters sympathize with Al Iaquinta's rage, though they say MMA needs to do better

KRAKOW, Poland – UFC fighters relate to UFC lightweight “Raging” Al Iaquinta’s expletive-laden outburst following this UFC Fight Night 63 earlier this month, but that doesn’t mean they would advocate doing the same.

“I don’t blame him for thinking the way he does, but obviously he’s going to learn from this situation, and hopefully react in a better manner next time,” UFC heavyweight Anthony Hamilton told MMAjunkie prior to UFC Fight Night 64, which took place this past Saturday in Krakow, Poland.

After winning a split decision over Jorge Masvidal (28-9 MMA, 5-2 UFC) on the event’s FOX Sports 1-televised main card, Iaquinta (12-3-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) found himself booed at Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. The crowd loudly disagreed with the judges’ scorecards.

Iaquinta went quickly to anger, using his post-fight interview with UFC commentator Jon Anik to curse the fans.

“You better not boo me!” Iaquinta said. “I f-cking fought my ass off! F-ck you!”

The video went viral, though the UFC took no official action against “The Ultimate Fighter 15? finalist. It might, after all, have brought more attention to an otherwise routine fight card.

At the same time, it might not have been the best look for the sport of MMA, which is why some of Iaquinta’s colleagues think he should have thought a little more before speaking.

Why? It’s a matter of perception, both for the sport and for the individual.

“We’re not that basement thing,” said retired ex-champ Forrest Griffin, a UFC Hall of Famer. “We are mainstream now. You can’t cuss on TV. It does hurt your brand if you do stuff like that. That’s not what blue chip sponsors are looking for.”

At the UFC Fight Night 63 post-event news conference, Iaquinta defended his actions and said he was set off by a pair of fans giving him the middle finger. He also said he would probably have to get used to that sort of thing. Despite his nickname, he probably doesn’t want to be known exclusively for being a hothead.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 63, check out the UFC Events section of the site.