Iaquinta rips UFC for announcing bout before he signed contract

Al Iaquinta woke up from a nap during last weekend's UFC Fight Night card to an unusual number of texts, tweets, and Instagram messages, and he didn't know why.

Then the lightweight saw the UFC had just announced he would be returning from a two-year layoff against Bobby Green at UFC 268 in November, despite the fact Iaquinta had yet to sign his contract.

"I'm seeing that they announced the fight, and I was like, 'What the f---? I haven't signed the contract.' I hate when they do that," Iaquinta told Ariel Helwani on "The MMA Hour" on Wednesday. "They've done this to me once before. And it's really not the right thing to do. It kind of bothers me a lot, especially (because) they know I've been trying to get a hold of them."

Iaquinta said he still hadn't signed his contract as of Wednesday, but the veteran planned to talk to the UFC brass later that day to hopefully finalize the matchup against Green.

The 34-year-old hasn't stepped into the cage since losing to Dan Hooker in October 2019. Once ranked among the top five of the lightweight division, Iaquinta is riding a two-fight skid and will look to secure his first victory since 2018 against Green.

UFC 268 is scheduled to feature a welterweight title rematch between champion Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington at Madison Square Garden in New York.