Career
A professional MMA competitor since 2009, Iaquinta has made a name for himself fighting for the Ring of Combat promotion and his stint on FX's The Ultimate Fighter: Live. He is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), fighting in their lightweight division. He is currently #11 in official UFC lightweight rankings and the #8 lightweight fighter in the world by Sherdog.
Iaquinta earned his associate degree from Nassau Community College. Before turning pro, Iaquinta had a perfect amateur record of 14-0. Iaquinta began his pro MMA career fighting for the Ring of Combat promotion.
There, he earned a record of 5 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw. The Ultimate Fighter
Iaquinta was one of 32 lightweight fighters announced by the UFC to participate in first live season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Iaquinta advanced into the TUF house by defeating Jon Tuck by unanimous decision after one round.
Afterwards, he was chosen as first pick for Team Faber. In the quarter-finals, Iaquinta fought Team Faber teammate, Andy Ogle. Iaquinta defeated Pichel via unanimous decision after two rounds, and moved onto the finals against teammate Michael Chiesa.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Iaquinta lost to Chiesa by rear naked choke early in the first round. Iaquinta was expected to face Joe Proctor on April 27, 2013 at UFC 159. However, the bout was scrapped as both fighters sustained training injuries leading up to the fight.
Iaquinta faced Ryan Couture on August 31, 2013 at UFC 164, replacing an injured Quinn Mulhern. Iaquinta was expected to face Anthony Njokuani on October 26, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 30, replacing an injured Paul Taylor On September 24, Njokuani pulled out of the event with an injury. Iaquinta instead faced Piotr Hallmann.
Iaquinta faced debuting Kevin Lee at UFC 169 on February 1, 2014. Iaquinta faced Mitch Clarke at UFC 173 on May 24, 2014. He lost the fight via technical submission in the second round.
Iaquinta faced Rodrigo Damm at UFC Fight Night 50 on September 5, 2014. Iaquinta defeated Damm via third round TKO. Iaquinta faced Ross Pearson on November 8, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 55. Iaquinta faced Joe Lauzon on January 31, 2015 at UFC 183.
Iaquinta faced Jorge Masvidal on April 4, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 63. 13 of 15 media outlets scored the bout in favor of Masvidal. Iaquinta was expected to face Bobby Green on July 15, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 71.
However, Green pulled out of the fight in mid-June citing an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Gilbert Melendez. Subsequently, Melendez was removed from the card on July 6 after it was revealed that he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs after his previous fight at UFC 188. In turn, Iaquinta was removed from the card as well.
