Al Iaquinta believes he deserves another shot at UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov before Conor McGregor. After defeating Kevin Lee in a rematch at UFC Fight Night in Milwaukee on Saturday (49-46, 48-47 and 48-47), the Long Island called out McGregor.
"If Conor thinks he's going to get a rematch [with Nurmagomedov], that's nonsense," Iaquinta said.
"I'm the guy he's got to get through if he wants a rematch. He tapped out."
Iaquinta fought Nurmagomedov back in April on just 24 hour's notice after Max Holloway was pulled from the bout due to weight-cut issues. Despite losing every round to the current champ, he took pride in the fact that he went the full distance.
McGregor, meanwhile, challenged Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October. Despite nine weeks of training, McGregor was completely overmatched and lost in the fourth round via submission. In Iaquinta's mind, that makes him more deserving of a rematch.
"I took it like man on a week’s notice, he had all the time in the world to prepare, and he wanted a way out," Iaquinta added.
It's hard to argue with Iaquinta's logic, but there's no denying a McGregor-Nurmagomedov rematch would probably be a bigger draw.
Still, there's a long line of fighters looking to challenge Nurmagomedov, including Tony Ferguson. Speaking to reporters backstage (via
MMAjunkie), Iaquinta said he'd also be willing to take that fight.
“I think Ferguson’s the guy,” Iaquinta said.
“I think I’m a perfect style matchup to beat him. If there’s any holdup, that’s the guy I want to fight.”
Who do you think is most deserving of a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov?