Bizarre UFC punishment emerges following hometown hero’s withdrawal from New York card

Proud New Yorker Al Iaquinta has withdrawn from the historic UFC 205 card due to a contract dispute with the promotion.

Raging Al was set to take on Thiago Alves in his first fight since April 2015, but he revealed to FOX Sports that he has chosen not to sign the contract to fight the Brazilian. Iaquinta explained that he didn't take the decision to withdraw from his dream fight on the first UFC card in his home city lightly, but he just couldn't afford to take the bout.

"I got the contract and I was just looking at it for a couple of days. I was like I just can't sign it. I can't do it. I felt like it wasn't right. I talked to my manager, I said listen I really want to fight in New York. There's nothing I want to do more than fight in New York, but I can't take a pay cut for this fight."

https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/777602870908751872?lang=en It seems like a standard beef that plenty of fighters have had with the promotion in the past, but once Raging Al shed more light on the particulars of his case, you begin to feel for him. Firstly, he signed his current contract before the controversial Reebok sponsorship deal was signed, meaning he stood to earn just $5,000 in sponsorship from the Alves fight, claiming that he made more than that from just one sponsor in his previous bouts with the organisation.

"I'm taking a pay cut from all of my sponsors. I'm taking a pay cut of all the last 18 months of the sponsors that could have been. I told (my manager) that I wanted more. I wanted to have a conversation with the UFC and see if they would do some kind of negotiation because when I signed my contract, there was no Reebok deal."

If you don't fight, you don't get paid, but Iaquinta wanted to fight in July 2015 and was pulled from UFC Fight Night 71 through no fault of his own. He was scheduled to face Bobby Green on the card, but he pulled out due to injury. Green's replacement Gilbert Melendez was removed from the card after testing positive for PEDs. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/618148433770246144?lang=en He claims that his purse for the Alves fight would have been $26,000 to show and another $26,000 for the win. However, he revealed that he would not have been eligible for any of the performance bonuses due to a bizarre punishment from the UFC due to a trio of infractions.

"Five weeks out from my fight, it was supposed to be Bobby Green, the UFC wanted to fly me out to a fighter summit in Las Vegas, which would have been a time difference for a week and it would have been five weeks out from a fight. I teach private lessons that's how I make a little bit of side money, I would have had to stop doing that. I would have had to go to Las Vegas, get mediocre training away from my team, away from my coaches and not get paid a thing."

Iaquinta explained that he was sick for the event, but when he posted photos of a beach near his house a few days later, the UFC called him up to ask if he was really ill. Missing the fighter summit was the "third strike", following his admission to wrecking a hotel room after his fight with Joe Lauzon in 2014 with his second being swearing on live TV following his split decision win over Jorge Masvidal in 2015.

"They listened to every word that I said and when I was done they said 'well we're still going to stick with the same punishment, you're not going to be able to win a post fight bonus for three fights.' It was their call. I think they had their mind up before I got on that call with them. It's not like I went before a committee or anyone. It was their decision and boom, three fights no bonuses."

It's a strange punishment considering the bonus system were introduced as a measure to make fights more exciting and to encourage fighters to perform to the best of their ability. What incentive would Iaquinta have had to go for the finish at UFC 205 without those bonuses in play? We review a crazy All-Ireland final and chat to Lee Keegan about his special relationship with Diarmuid Connolly. Listen below or subscribe here on iTunes.