New York lightweight Al Iaquinta has turned down an offer to fight Thiago Alves at UFC 205 on Nov. 12 in Madison Square Garden due to a contract holdout with the UFC.
Iaquinta, 29, verbally agreed to the matchup at first, but he said he couldn't bring himself to sign the official bout agreement.
The UFC declined to comment on the situation to ESPN.com.
Riding a four-fight win streak, Iaquinta (12-3) said he stood to make $26,000 to show and $26,000 to win the fight in New York. He said he has three fights left on his deal, which was negotiated in early 2015.
"I printed out the contract, went to sign it and just said, 'I cant do it,'" Iaquinta told ESPN.com. "As much as I would love to be a superstar at Madison Square Garden, this is only going to last for so long and then I'm going to be stuck with the injuries.
"With the money they're paying me right now, it's enough to get by, maybe. I could do that in any profession and not risk the injuries. Health is so important to me after what I've been through the last 18 months."
Iaquinta listed several factors that went into his decision, including the UFC's apparel deal with Reebok that banned individual sponsorships from appearing in the Octagon. Additionally, Iaquinta underwent knee surgery late last year, and his experience with that greatly affected his current perception.
Iaquinta was 24 when he agreed to compete on the UFC's "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series in 2012. He performed well, eventually losing in the tournament final to fellow UFC lightweight Michael Chiesa.
The show required him to fight five times in three months. According to Iaquinta, he was paid a flat $750 per week. Luckily, he made an extra $50,000 in bonus money for having the best knockout and fight of the season. Looking back, Iaquinta said that without those bonuses, appearing on the show would not have been worth it.
Especially because Iaquinta suffered a knee injury in the show's semifinals. He initially had a "patchwork" surgery performed, he said, but the knee reached a point last year that he felt a second procedure was necessary.
When he informed the UFC, Iaquinta said he was initially told the company's insurance would only pick up $15,000 of a $60,000 operation. Eventually, the UFC did agree to pay for the entire procedure, he said, but only after weeks of slow, frustrating correspondence.
"I was talking to a woman at the UFC medical department and it was almost like I was hassling her," Iaquinta said. "It's like, 'This is your job. You're employed by the UFC. You have health benefits. Your job is to help me. I'm not burdening you. I wish I didn't have to call you. I actually hate calling you because you make me feel like I shouldn't.'
"I eventually said, 'So, you're telling me a UFC fighter on a four-fight win streak is going to have to start a GoFundMe page to pay for a surgery -- is that what you're telling me right now?' That was what it took to get on the phone with [former UFC owner] Lorenzo Fertitta. And even then, they wanted me to get a different surgery. I ended up saying I was going in for the surgery either way, and I think that put pressure on them."
Iaquinta acknowledged it hasn't been long since he signed his current four-fight deal. He has completed only one of those: a split-decision win over Jorge Masvidal in April 2015.
His mindset, however, has changed tremendously in that time. After he was initially told he'd have to pay for knee surgery out of pocket, Iaquinta said he came to grips with the possibility that his career was over. Now that he's accepted that once and prepared accordingly (he received his real estate license earlier this year), it frees him to demand a new deal.
"They sell you on the dream," Iaquinta said. "You end up fighting for less than you're worth, hoping one day you can 'make it.' I've already made it. I'm in the UFC.
"At first, the dream is making 'The Ultimate Fighter.' When you're in 'The Ultimate Fighter,' it's about making the UFC. Get into the UFC, the dream is making it to that next contract. I got to the next contract and was told, 'Stay in the good graces of the UFC. Don't piss them off, because if you ask for more money, they're not going to give it to you anyway, and God forbid you lose a fight -- they'll cut you.'
"Now, I really don't give a s--- if they cut me. I could f------ care less."
Iaquinta did not reveal the exact figure he's seeking, but he said the UFC has shown no interest in renegotiating his current deal.
Playing into his decision, Iaquinta said the UFC informed him he is ineligible for the promotion's highly sought-after fight night bonuses, which usually consist of $50,000 and are awarded at every event.
Iaquinta said he was told his ineligibility stems from several violations of the UFC's code of conduct.
"I'm really just fed up," Iaquinta said. "I'm fed up with the sport. I don't even call it a sport anymore. They treat the wrong people right and the right people wrong.
"I went to UFC 53 [in 2005] and I had such a different idea of this. It's where I wanted to be. I watched every fight when I was young. This is all I wanted to do. I thought these guys were superstars. I thought these guys were making money, being on TV -- and now I'm here and it's totally different. I keep saying, 'It can't be like this. This can't be how it is.'"
Iaquinta fights out of Serra-Longo Fight Team. He is 7-2 overall in the UFC with three knockouts.