Al Iaquinta left the main event of UFC Ottawa in rough shape, after losing to Donald Cerrone by unanimous decision. The 32-year-old could hardly walk out of the octagon.
Following his defeat to Cerrone, during a recent appearance on a show, Iaquinta opened up about his injuries and recovery. The fighter not only had his nose broken, but also has deep bruises on his legs and a fractured right orbital.
“I broke my nose, I fractured my (right) orbital bone and had some deep bruising on my legs because of those kicks,” Iaquinta said during a Tuesday appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN.com. “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.”
The matchup between the two was at the 155 pound category. Al Iaquinta was coming off beating Kevin Lee in December, while ‘Cowboy’ secured a victory against Alexander Hernandez in January.
“I had every opportunity to win the fight”
Iaquinta entered the octagon as a betting favorite, and successfully kept his end up against the ‘cowboy’ in the first two rounds. However, Cerrone managed to change the course with a knockdown that shook ‘Raging’. That was when UFC’s all-time wins leader started rocking Iaquinta with heavy hooks.
“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.”
Following the defeat, Iaquinta is still in high spirits to bounce back. His fights scheduled later for the year will give him plenty of time to heal and regain his mobility. He hopes to return to the Octagon better than ever.
“I had every opportunity to win the fight, and I should’ve, but I didn’t,” Iaquinta told. “He beat the (expletive) out of me the way a veteran gets it done. He’s good, man. He’s good.”
