Gallery Donald Cerrone def. Al Iaquinta at UFC on ESPN+ 9: Best photos view 19 images

When Al Iaquinta left the octagon following his loss to Donald Cerrone at UFC on ESPN+ 9, it was obvious he was in rough shape. His face was a bloody mess, and he could hardly get backstage under his own power.

Iaquinta (14-5-1 MMA, 9-4 UFC) admits he’s just getting back to full health following a unanimous decision defeat to Cerrone (36-11 MMA, 23-8 UFC), which came in the lightweight headliner at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. It’s been less than a month, but considering what he went through, that timeline might be generous.

“I broke my nose, I fractured my (right) orbital bone and had some deep bruising on my legs because of those kicks,” Iaquinta said during a Tuesday appearance on “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.” on ESPN.com. “(The bruising from the kicks) was brutal. I’m just finally starting to be able to move around. It took its toll. That won’t happen again, that’s for sure.”

The matchup between Iaquinta and Cerrone was important at 155 pounds. Iaquinta was coming off a main-event victory over Kevin Lee in December, while “Cowboy” had just won his return to the weight class against Alexander Hernandez in January.

Iaquinta went into the fight as the betting favorite, and over the first two rounds of the contest, he held his own. Cerrone turned the tide in the latter portion of the third frame, though, landing a knockdown that rattled Iaquinta. From there, the UFC’s all-time wins leader turned up the volume, hurting Iaquinta several more times before getting the nod on points.

A broken nose and broken orbital are two challenging injuries to fight with individually, but dealing with both at once is nearly insurmountable.

“He hit me with a stiff jab that I don’t know if it broke my nose, it cut my nose open,” Iaquinta said. “He hit me with a bunch of shots so it could have been any one. He did cut me open; that could’ve been the one. I think it was somewhere in the third round where he caught me in the eye, the third or the fourth round. It definitely affected my vision, and it definitely was something tough to fight through. But it is what it is. I train to be in those situations.”

Iaquinta is in relatively positive spirits after a difficult night, and he said he’s already thinking about how he will bounce back. Iaquinta likes the idea of an octagon return at the UFC’s annual November stop at Madison Square Garden in his native New York, but did not mention any specific opponents.

Fighting in the final quarter of the year would give Iaquinta plenty more time to heal and reflect on his loss to Cerrone. He said he already sees places where he can improve and fight differently, but said he has no excuses for falling short.

“I had every opportunity to win the fight, and I should’ve, but I didn’t,” Iaquinta said. “He beat the (expletive) out of me the way a veteran gets it done. He’s good, man. He’s good.”

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