Why Al Iaquinta was right to lash out at booing fans
Al Iaquinta vs. Jorge Masvidal's UFC co-main event Saturday in Fairfax was a good fight with a surprising decision. Despite nearly finishing Iaquinta in the first round with strikes, Masvidal would ease off the gas pedal in the second and third and lose a split decision.
I was cage side and was pretty surprised that the judges saw it Iaquinta's way. Masvidal was furious and stormed out of the Octagon.
Two fighters disagreeing who won a fight is no shocker, and each man had legit reasons to believe they deserved the nod. The raucous and profane exchange between Iaquinta and some of the Patriot Center fans that followed, was sad, however.
Perhaps Masvidal deserved to win, but Iaquinta certainly didn't deserve to get booed.
The negativity that showered down wasn't in good fun, and it wasn't justified. It was just ignorant and childish, like all boos that aren't directed at cheating.
Iaquinta, who has fought two excellent fighters in the past two months (Joe Lauzon and Masvidal) and managed to survive a brutal first round before turning the tide his way in the third, exploded upon hearing the fans boo. "You guys booing me?" he asked, rhetorically in his post-fight interview.
"You had better not boo me. I [expletive] worked my ass off. [Expletive] you!"
I couldn't blame Iaquinta for his outburst in reaction to the fans' shameful display. In fact, good for him.
If the UFC gave out fight bonuses for sticking up for oneself, Al would certainly deserve one. In the post-fight press conference Iaquinta explained that just as he began his post-fight interview he "saw two kids giving me the finger."
After exhausting himself and fighting through a sure concussion and a deep cut on his face for the better part of three rounds, getting booed for the effort was the last thing Iaquinta expected. "It hurt," he admitted.
Only someone with no pride would have not felt what Iaquinta must have felt hearing boos. Only someone with no empathy for their fellow man would boo an effort like Masvidal's.
Earlier this week, UFC fighter Brendan Schaub talked about the heartbreak of his last fight, a loss to Travis Browne in December. He said on his podcast, The Fighter & The Kid that if fans could understand what fighters go through, they would never take hateful cheap shots at them.
"If you could just plug that in to a human body, I promise you the entire world would never hate on you on social media," he said.
"They would never make bad comments towards you. They would see you in the streets, they would hug you."
Exciting as they are, fights are not action movies. The action is real, and so are the people.
For what it is worth, Masvidal made the fight exciting in the first with his near-finish, but it was Iaquinta who did so for the last two rounds. Especially in the third, the New Yorker pressed the action and landed more while Masvidal chose a conservative approach.
None of that should really all that matter, though. Let's save the booing for when athletes cheat.
Rooting for your favorites makes spectator sports more fun. Everyone is someone's favorite, though, and all honest efforts deserve respect.
