As we wait to see who Al Iaquinta will fight next, “Raging Al” continues to send verbal jabs in the direction of Conor McGregor.

Following Iaquinta’s impressive win over Kevin Lee in December, the outspoken fighter argued that he should be next for Khabib Nurmagomedov, instead of McGregor. Iaquinta agreed to step-up and fight Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 in April, and ended up losing to the lightweight champ via decision. McGregor, as you surely know, was submitted by Khabib in round three at UFC 229 in October.

Well, more recently, Iaquinta spoke with MMA Junkie, and here’s some of what the New York fighter had to say about McGregor:

“I took a five-round fight on a three-round camp, and I went the distance,” Iaquinta said. “What’s his excuse? He looked way more tired in the third than I was in the fifth, and I didn’t train for five. That says a lot.”

“I was a big fan, but I think he’s getting a little out of control now,” Iaquinta said. “I thought he was the guy that would kind of do what he did but stay true to the martial arts. It seemed like, in the beginning, he was really kind of like the martial way, do the right thing, respect your fellow competitors, ‘we’re all in this’ kind of thing. His goal set out to be the best, and now that he is the best and he’s got a lot of money. I just think he’s a little out of control.”

Now, more than a few people have argued that Iaquinta faired better against Nurmagomedov than McGregor did. Especially since, as Iaquinta noted, he wasn’t prepared for a five-round fight at UFC 223. The lightweight was originally scheduled to fight Paul Felder in a three-round scrap.

But, regardless of whether you agree with that or not, due to how much money a rematch between Khabib and Conor would generate, the chances of Iaquinta getting tapped for a rematch ahead of McGregor are slim to none.

And as far as the comments about McGregor being “out of control”, you won’t have to look too far to find someone who agrees with Al either. The lead-up to UFC 229 was as nasty as it gets, although, due to Khabib’s post-fight actions, the champ was also criticized for losing control.

All this aside, it will be interesting to see who Iaquinta faces next. The 31-year-old has gone 8-2 in his last 10 fights.

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