Michael Bisping on not-smart Al Iaquinta’s UFC rampage - ‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds you’

Al Iaquinta is not happy with his current employer, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), as the “Raging” Lightweight contender has gone on a warpath against the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion.

It all began at UFC 205, when Iaquinta pulled out of his scheduled fight against Thiago Alves because of a contract dispute. After stepping back into the cage this past weekend (Sat., April 22, 2017) and knocking out Diego Sanchez in the first round at UFC Fight Night 108 (see it), Iaquinta slammed the promotion — and Dana White -- for not giving him a $50,000 bonus.

And earlier this week, the hard-hitting 155-pound fighter took it one step further, slamming Reebok, as well as innocent bystander, Sage Northcutt. It’s all a bad move on his part, according to current Middleweight champion, Michael Bisping, who declared on his “Believe You Me” podcast that while he’s a fan of Ianquinta and appreciates his brutal honesty, sometimes you have to take a step back and chill out. In addition, he isn’t buying Iaquinta’s claims that he can make more money selling real estate as opposed to fighting for UFC.

“I saw all these tweets and they are laden with spelling mistakes. And I am not trying to insult his intelligence, I just know for a fact that he’s done all this after a few drinks. That is my assumption. Now listen, first and foremost, after the fight he was talking shit about the UFC. That’s his opinion, that’s his right, whatever you want to say. I’m, just saying, those tweets, in my opinion, after the fight, he’s at home he’s like, ’Fuck it, I’m out of training camp, I’m going to enjoy myself.’ So he’s taking to Twitter to vent his frustrations. That’s my assumption on that. He also went on ‘The MMA Hour’ and said, ‘Fuck the UFC if they don’t get behind me and I don’t need to fight.’ Listen, I like Al Iaquinta, I really do, I like the way he fights, he is very exciting, he’s a knockout artist and brings a lot to the table, but he’s not being the smartest man right now. He’s really not. He’s saying he can go off and become a real estate agent and make more money. The fact is you can’t, there is more money to be made in UFC and it’s as simple as that. Period. Al has the potential to be one of those guys and he has the potential to be a champion and make it to the money and be a fan favorite. But, going up against the UFC and saying, ‘Fuck you Dana’ and stuff like that, it’s just not smart. And I’m not saying you have to be an ass kisser, you don’t have to be, but in any line of work, and this will endear him to some people ... and it’s fun to see people go on a rampage and go against the system; but think a little bit and don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Speak your mind, be honest, but you don’t have to go too crazy.”

Indeed, if anyone knows about venting one’s frustration in a controlled manner, it’s “The Count,” as he recently expressed his disappointment of never getting a million-dollar payday with the promotion, despite all of his years of service.

As a result, he got his wish, as the promotion booked him to face former Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in what is sure-to-be Bisping’s highest-paying fight to date.

Whether or not the promotion will bow down to Iaquinta the same way, remains to be seen. But something tells me Al isn’t done with his crusade just yet.