Al Iaquinta: Donald Cerrone Beat The Sh*t Out Of Me

Al Iaquinta suffered a setback in his quest to regain a lightweight title opportunity earlier this month (Sat. May 4, 2019).

“Ragin” was defeated by Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the main event of UFC Ottawa via unanimous decision. Iaquinta suffered a string of injuries in the bout.

During a recent appearance on “The Ariel Helwani MMA Show,” Iaquinta revealed that he broke his nose, fractured his right orbital, and has some deep bruises on his legs (via MMA Junkie):

“I broke my nose, I fractured my (right) orbital bone and had some deep bruising on my legs because of those kicks,” Iaquinta said. “(The bruising from the kicks) was brutal. I’m just finally starting to be able to move around. It took its toll. That won’t happen again, that’s for sure.”

Iaquinta then detailed how he believes he suffered his nose and orbital injuries. The lightweight believes a stiff jab from Cerrone may have broken his nose, and a shot in the third or fourth round nailed him in the eye:

“He hit me with a stiff jab that I don’t know if it broke my nose, it cut my nose open,” Iaquinta said. “He hit me with a bunch of shots so it could have been any one, he did cut me open; that could’ve been the one.

“I think it was somewhere in the third round where he caught me in the eye, the third or the fourth round. It definitely affected my vision, and it definitely was something tough to fight through. But it is what it is. I train to be in those situations.”

In the end, Iaquinta has no excuses for his loss, crediting the veteran Cerrone, and admitting “Cowboy” “beat the sh*t” out of him:

“I had every opportunity to win the fight, and I should’ve, but I didn’t,” Iaquinta said. “He beat the (expletive) out of me the way a veteran gets it done. He’s good, man. He’s good.”