Al Iaquinta details injuries he sustained against Donald Cerrone

In the main event of UFC Ottawa, Al Iaquinta was looking to secure his second career title opportunity by defeating Donald Cerrone. The 32-year-old Long Island native was riding high after beating Kevin Lee in December.

However, the fight didn’t go Iaquinta’s way and he ended up losing by unanimous decision. Not only did he lose, but “Raging Al” was badly cut open and his leg was badly bruised as well. Now, a few weeks later, he spoke about the injuries he suffered in his scrap with ‘Cowboy’.

“I broke my nose, I fractured my (right) orbital bone and had some deep bruising on my legs because of those kicks,” Al Iaquinta said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show (as transcribed by MMA Junkie). “(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.”

During the fight, Iaquinta could tell he broke not only his nose but also his orbital bone. Those injuries impacted his vision and slowed him down in the fight.

“He hit me with a stiff jab that I don’t know if it broke my nose, it cut my nose open,” Al 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.”

Ultimately, Iaquinta believes he should have won the fight, but just failed to perform up to his capabilities.

“I had every opportunity to win the fight, and I should’ve, but I didn’t,” Iaquinta said. “He beat the (expletive) out of me the way a veteran gets it done. He’s good, man. He’s good.”

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/28/2019