Al Iaquinta is not mincing words when he it comes to the UFC. In an interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, he talked about the UFC bonus system and how it controls everybody.
Despite being on an 8-1 win streak since TUF 15, Iaquinta has spoken out about fighter pay and event contemplated retirement. He pulled out of UFC 205 due to a dispute over his pay. Without another UFC post-fight bonus, he tweeted his displeasure with the UFC.
Iaquinta had been banned from post-fight bonuses because of the UFC’s belief that he purposely skipped a UFC fighter summit in Las Vegas.
Iaquinta stated that the $50,000 bonuses is used as a way to control the fighters.
Payout Perspective:
It’s obvious that bonuses are a way to entice fighters. You hear some fighters (mostly those lower on the pay scale) request in their post-fight interview for the $50K bonus. The more exciting the fight, the bigger possibility that a fighter may get the $50K. So, you can see where Iaquinta is coming from. However, this “carrot and stick” happens in all forms of business and not just the UFC. The more interesting issue will be what the UFC decides to do with Iaquinta. Certainly, the easiest thing to do would be to not renew Iaquinta’s deal once it is over and allow him to leave for Bellator.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GUyjzZSr8WA….revolution hahaha
If I were the UFC, I wouldn’t wait for it to end, I would cut him now. Let him see what he’s worth on the open market. I doubt Bellator would be too interested based on his behavior. Keep in mind this is a guy who is a perpetual headache to deal with. He cursed out the fans, he trashed a hotel room, he skipped that meeting and mocked them in the process-then when reps spoke to him, he flipped out on them, he’s trashed the UFC repeatedly also and after this latest outburst, why would they want to keep him around? He’s the furthest thing from a superstar.