Al Iaquinta Could Make UFC Return Soon

Al Iaquinta’s Octagon hiatus may soon be coming to an end.

After flirting with the decision to retire from mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, the former Ultimate Fighter 15 (TUF 15) finalist’s contract dispute with the UFC seems to have resolved itself. UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby posted the following on Twitter indicating that ‘Raging’s’ Octagon return could be coming soon:

https://twitter.com/seanshelby/status/824884216995328000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Recently Iaquinta joined Submission Radio (quotes via Bloody Elbow) to discuss what the ‘retired’ life was like, and also discussed the difficulties of working an office job while missing the thrill of competing inside the Octagon:

“It’s tough,” Iaquinta admitted. “I don’t know. I definitely would rather be fighting. It’s pretty hard when you’re fighting in front of thousands of people or whatever, and then you’re working in the office. But I gotta be honest, as far as my health goes, this is probably the healthiest I’ve been in a while. No injuries and I’m not going home every day with neck nagging, pain, stuff like that. So that’s definitely a good part.

“I miss a lot of it, but a lot of it I don’t miss. And I feel like I’m kind of saving myself. I don’t know. It’s not been easy, but I know I’m doing the right thing for right now. I’m going out to Denver this weekend to see Aljo (Aljamain Sterling) and I’m sure I’ll see a couple of people from the UFC and maybe we’ll have a conversation, maybe we won’t. But I definitely miss fighting, that’s for sure. I definitely miss fighting.”

Iaquinta could already have an opponent in mind, as he and Thiago Alves seem to have agreed to a welterweight fight on April 8th:

April 8? @ALIAQUINTA @seanshelby #Vamos

— Thiago “Pitbull” Alves 🇧🇷🇺🇸 (@ThiagoAlvesATT) January 28, 2017

@170 it's on @ThiagoAlvesATT https://t.co/GvFZoZyATO

— Al Iaquinta🗽 (@ALIAQUINTA) January 28, 2017

Currently riding a four-fight win streak over names such as Joe Lauzon and Jorge Masvidal, how do you think a match-up against Alves at 170 pounds fares for Iaquinta?

You can listen to Iaquinta’s interview with Submission Radio here: