Al Iaquinta makes a quick turnaround to face off against Jorge Masvidal who has been left with two opponents due to injuries. Is a quick turnaround smart?
Al Iaquinta has now won three straight by knockout, but in facing a striker will that streak be hard to continue?
Al Iaquinta did not start off on his UFC career on the right foot by losing by decision. He then picked up three straight wins by decision, had an unfortunate loss by submission to Mitch Clarke, and then is on the aforementioned knockout streak. That streak includes TUF alums Ross Pearson and Joe Lauzon. Now he returns in a little over four weeks to take on Jorge Masvidal who is on a similar 6-1 streak in the co-main event.
Jorge Masvidal and won his first two fights but then took on Rustam Khabilov and lost. He has turned it around with wins over Pat Healy as well as James Krause. He was originally supposed to face off against Bobby Green who lost his last fight in the UFC, but then Green was injured and taken off the card. The slot was filled by Benson Henderson who wanted to redeem himself after losing two straight for the first time in his career. That changed when he moved to fight a few weeks earlier in the main event at a match at Welterweight against Brandon Thatch. This left Masvidal without an opponent and with Iaquinta’s big win with minimal damage it only made sense.
Iaquinta just cracked the top 15 at 14 while is ranked 13. It is not out of the realm of possibilities that with a win either of them could crack the top ten. With their varying skills and top notch standup they could become a potential contender for the title before the year is out. Who do you think has the better abilities in this fight to come out on top?