Why Al Iaquinta hopes UFC 223 fight with Paul Felder isn't exciting

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Al Iaquinta knows most people are expecting his UFC 223 meeting with Paul Felder on Saturday to be a “Fight of the Night” type one.

And he totally gets why, too. But, at the end of the day, there’s one person who the lightweight ultimately wants to please more than anyone else in this fight: himself. And that’s where Iaquinta might just have to throw a bit of wrench on everyone else’s plans.

“I hope it’s not exciting,” Iaquinta told MMAjunkie. “I want everyone to go crazy for one second, when it’s over, and that’s it.”

That doesn’t mean that Iaquinta (13-3-1 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who meets Felder (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in the pay-per-view main card at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., doesn’t think it’s going to be a good fight. After all, Felder is the type of guy who keeps coming forward, whether he’s getting hit or not. And Iaquinta, too, has proven that he’s fine taking on a tough fight when it’s presented to him.

“I’m in there to fight,” Iaquinta said. “I’ll keep coming forward if I have to.”

But Iaquinta has a goal. And, the way he sees it, he also has all the stylistic tools to achieve it on Saturday.

“Everyone’s saying it’s ‘Fight of the Night,'” Iaquinta said. “Even he, I think, said it has ‘Fight of the Night’ written all over it. That’s never the goal. If the goal is ‘Fight of the Night,’ that’s not a great goal. That means the other guy is getting off.

“I think the goal for me is to go in there, make it look smooth, make it look easy. I want to make it look quick. I want to make it look even better than my last fight. That’s the goal. If I fall short and it’s a war, I’m ready for it. But that’s never the goal.”

Their recent records are similar in the sense that both lightweights carry winning streaks with multiple knockouts. Felder finished his past three opponents that way, while Iaquinta has four knockouts and just one split decision among his five most recent outings.

The difference, however, is in how spaced out those wins are: Felder’s were all in 2017, while Iaquinta fought only once last year. And even that, a first-round knockout over Diego Sanchez, came after a two-year layoff. Iaquinta was supposed to have returned last December, against Felder, himself, but had to pull out due to injury.

The lack of activity, Iaquinta admits, isn’t “optimal.” But he wouldn’t qualify it as “tough,” either. As far as ring rust goes, he believes he’s managed to stave it off at the gym, with the help of some hard sparring sessions. And, most importantly, the time away at least worked toward healing lingering injuries.

“I never thought I’d be able to train like I trained for this fight,” Iaquinta said. “If nothing else, that’s awesome.”

But, silver linings aside, Iaquinta is still hoping to increase the pace moving forward.

“I think having the momentum, having a couple more fights a year, is the goal,” Iaquinta said. “And just keep the ball rolling. I think I’m right there. I’m right there. I think I’ve gotten some people behind me. I’ve gotten some fans behind me now that they like what I’m doing.”

While a sixth straight win, over the No. 15 fighter on the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, would certainly be the type of thing to earn a guy some leverage, the case for No. 13 ranked Iaquinta might be a little more complicated that that.

After all, it’s no secret to anyone that he’s had a contentious relationship with the UFC, having become one of the most vocal opponents to how the promotion compensates its roster. He’s talked openly about his contract issues and has recently joined the board of Project Spearhead, a fighter-led effort looking to unionize and improve work conditions for mixed martial artists.

Given the butting of heads that’s happened outside the cage, does Iaquinta fear there might be some retaliation when it comes to the opportunities he’s given inside of it?

“You know, I probably should,” Iaquinta said. “I’m really just thinking about this fight. And I think if the fight goes the way I plan it to go and if things are done the right way, I think everything will be good.”

Of course “good” can take on different meanings depending on your expectations. Iaquinta, after all, is not a regular, full-time fighter: He not only has a job in real-estate, but it’s one that he’s passionate about, too. Between that and Project Spearhead, it’s not like Iaquinta had made the octagon life the end-all of his existence.

But that in no way means he doesn’t have plans for it.

“It’s definitely not about the money,” Iaquinta said. “It’s just how I want to be able to do what I love to do and not have it be burdensome on my life. I want to just be stable and happy and be able to go to the gym and train and ?-free, I’m just training. There’s no worries. I just want to be able to do what I want to do and train like a professional athlete and just not have to worry about anything else.

“Just worry about fighting. Worry, if one of my friends wants to buy a house, I’ll sell them a house, but I don’t have to. I don’t want to have to do that. I want to do that because I’m enjoying it. I think I’ve put so much work into this that I’m right there and it’s going to be mine.”

To hear more from Iaquinta, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC 223, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.