By Duane Finley 

Backing down isn't in Al Iaquinta's genetic makeup. The man is wired to hold his ground and his penchant for ruckus has endeared the "Ragin'" one to fight fans around the world.

When Iaquinta's name is on the fight card there's a stamped guarantee the Serra-Longo product will step into the UFC Octagon, sling leather with ferocity and let the hammers fly with no regard for human life -- or any other type of life for that matter. Iaquinta simply loves the square up-get down, and if you're going to think about booing him...well, he has no problem straightening you out on that front as well.

Yet, where most fighters find the majority of their conflict under the bright lights, the bulk of Iaquinta's battles over the past two years have come from beyond the cage on fight night. The New York native has been one of the most outspoken advocates of increased fighter pay, and this especially rings true where it pertains to his personal value under the UFC banner.

Iaquinta had a number he wanted the biggest promotion in the sport to reach, and they balked, so he took up a career in real estate. After several more months on the sidelines -- and a few highly publicized vent sessions on social media -- Iaquinta dusted off the four-ounce gloves to throw a 98-second beatdown on UFC legend Diego Sanchez at UFC Fight Night 108 in Nashville.

Call it a mollywhopping, a drubbing, or a swift distribution of the violent sleeps...whatever the descriptor, Iaquinta handled Sanchez in a manner no fighter had before -- a feat made all the more impressive considering The Ultimate Fighter alum's two-year stint on the shelf. And with his triumphant return in Tennessee it seemed as if we'd finally managed to get things "Raging" again, but no sooner did the lightweight volcano erupt was it cooled off once more.

Four months removed from his demolition of Sanchez, and Iaquinta is nowhere near stepping back into the Octagon. There are some lingering knee issues he's currently tending to with physical therapy in hope of avoiding surgery, but even with a clean bill of health, Iaquinta isn't sure he'd be strapping on the gloves again.

"It's going to take a lot for me to fight again," Iaquinta told FloCombat. "The UFC offered me a few fights and I told them what I wanted. I didn't think it was unreasonable but it doesn't look like they felt the same way. I told them what I wanted and I don't think they were willing to meet that, so I think I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing.

"I was paid okay for the fight that I took, but I don't know, man. If the right fight comes to me and it's for the right money I'll take it, but right now I'm just thinking about getting healthy. I'm not really in a place for negotiations or training for a fight or anything. I have a couple sprained ligaments in my knee so I'm in the gym a few times a week doing physical therapy making sure I don't have to have surgery. Hopefully it all works out."


(© Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports) 

A lot of things would have to go right and fall into place for that to happen, and right now things are on and popping in the Long Island real estate market. Granted, closing a deal on house doesn't come with the satisfaction of settling a capable foe with his fists, but the stability provided from making good money at a solid clip has the lightweight staple feeling far closer to comfortable than he's felt in a long time.

"I'm trying to get myself as healthy as possible and sell some houses," Iaquinta said. "The real estate market on Long Island is amazing, but it's difficult at the same time. I have to stay focused because this is the hot season for this gig. I'm hustling right now.

"Starting out I made little mistakes and because of them I've probably lost out on more money than I've made so far. I've made decent money, but I fix up those mistakes and I'm cruising. Plus I know how much I'm making and feel a lot more comfortable. I'm enjoying it and it provides some stability. I know I'm going to be able to do this forever. I doubt the next house I sell will be my last, but with fighting you never know.

"I know if I sell this house I'll make this percentage and that's money I know is there. With fighting, it doesn't always work out that way."

While Iaquinta sees a lot of parallels between the two careers he's currently balancing, he definitely feels he's in the amateur ranks of the real estate profession with hopes of becoming a world champion in the future. On the flip side, Iaquinta holds a top-10 ranking in one of the UFC's deepest divisions, but has somewhat of an opposite feeling when it comes to his future in that realm.

Where the UFC's 155-pound fold has been one of the most competitive collectives for the better part of the past decade, the lightweight division has been running on fumes for the past nine months. Irish superstar Conor McGregor currently holds the official title but has run off to box Floyd Mayweather with no guarantee he'll ever return to the Octagon. Therefore, the promotion has tapped Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee to compete for an interim title at UFC 216 Oct. 7 in Las Vegas.

Outside of that bit of action in the division's upper tier, the 155-pound weight class as a whole has been sluggish, and Iaquinta sees his absence as a major part of the dilemma.

"I think one big reason the division isn't moving is because I haven't been active in the division," Iaquinta said. "I mean, Kevin Lee is getting a title shot. Aside from him getting one takedown on me and holding my back for five minutes….he's talking so tough right now. I watched his fight and the guy just doesn't get it. Then again...I'm not really in a position to talk sh*t right now because I can't really accept a fight. I just have to sit back and keep doing what I'm doing."

Although Iaquinta hasn't been an active participant in the divisional mix, that hasn't stopped him from continuing his stance against what he sees as a watering down of the sport he loves. Iaquinta has lashed out on several topics as of late, but perhaps none more prominently than the commentary job done by hip-hop star Snoop Dogg during the broadcast of Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series.

[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ALIAQUINTA/status/893912191430164485" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]

While Iaquinta will give the D-O Double G credit for dropping a few laughable lines, the Strong Island representative will not stand for the rapper cutting down on fighters who are stepping into the cage to put it all on the line. The most notable of these offenses in Iaquinta's eyes came when Snoop derided former light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier following his loss to rival Jon Jones at UFC 214 last month.

"There is no reason to have [Snoop Dogg] anywhere near this sport," Iaquinta said. "I think the comments that come out of his mouth show he's absolutely ignorant to the entire way of martial arts. It feels like that is how this sport is starting to trend in general. It's getting so mainstream now, and we have guys who sound like drunk fans at the bar announcing next to a former world champion.

"It was very disappointing to see the UFC would have a guy like that and then keep him after making the comments he made about the fighters. Daniel Cormier had a great fight and that was crazy disrespectful to say what he said about him. Snoop Dogg has never been put in a situation where he's put it on the line and lost the way Daniel Cormier did. He doesn't know what it takes and how much it crushes you to lose a fight like that. Then to come out with a statement like that?

"There are so many better guys and plenty of other options if you are going for entertainment over having a fighter do it. This guy is making fun of the sport. There was a fight where a guy got taken down and was in the other guy's guard and this dude is making sexual references. It's zero percent good for this sport. It's actually a negative to be honest. It's horrible."

While Iaquinta admits his future in mixed martial arts is currently in limbo, there is still a big part of him that is holding out hope the sport will break out of the current dip it has made toward entertainment over competition. That said, the aforementioned hope Iaquinta has is slim and believes if things don't change and change quickly the tenants that made MMA great will be lost forever.

"It's definitely becoming a sh*tshow," Iaquinta said. "I think the sport is losing its heart. I'm not even into it as much as I used to be. I used to never miss a fight. It's just not the same and it's not looking like it will get better any time soon."

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