New Delhi: American podcaster Joe Rogan highlighted how former American MMA professional AL laquinta gave a tough fight to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in their bout. The former Russian MMA professional was known to maul his opponents, including the most memorable moment of defeating Conor McGregor at UFC 229.
However, Rogan and his team noted that it was Al Iaquinta, also known as Raging AI, who dared to challenge Nurmagomedov, something that the Irishman McGregor couldn’t.
Rogan, Callen, and Schaub Analyze Iaquinta’s Performance
At the JRF Fight Companion held on February 8, Rogan discussed with his guests to recall the time when the fight between Nurmagomedov and Iaquinta took place.
“But Al Iaquinta, people forget… Khabib couldn’t take him down,” said Bryan Callen, as reported by Essentially Sports.
Though Nurmagomedov did won every round of their fight, the fact that Laquinta managed to survive a decision was something that not many of the opponents of The Eagle could stand to.
“Al survived with Khabib but still, it was a short notice for Al. I know it’s a different fight for Khabib but he struggled in that fight. Al had his moments,” he said.
Brendan Schaub, the former UFC heavyweight professional, agreed that the American was something special and gave him the credit for his exceptional skills. Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra believed that Iaquinta was in a different situation for his fight against The Eagle, explaining:
“Al was also set to fight Paul Felder, so he was about to fight a totally different fight. 24 hours notice, he had the best fight with Khabib anybody ever had. It’s amazing.”
As per the fight stats, there were 172 strikes released by Khabib Nurmagomedov and struck 6 of 15 takedowns. What experts think is that the fight wasn’t a lopsided one, though the Russian won it decisively given the nature of him used to maul other opponents.
“He didn’t get dominated, he lost the fight but he didn’t get dominated. Like Conor did, like a lot of other guys did, who got smashed,” Rogan said.
Joe Rogan and his guests discussed Al Iaquinta’s surprisingly resilient performance against Khabib Nurmagomedov. Despite losing, Iaquinta withstood Nurmagomedov’s takedown attempts better than many other opponents, prompting discussion about his skill and the fight’s competitiveness. UFC Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
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