CHARLOTTE – Vinc Pichel came into his fight with Joaquim Silva hoping to “knock his head off,” but by the third round he knew he was in a close fight in which he couldn’t afford to give an inch. He also knew, thanks to some striking exchanges earlier in the fight, that he was dealing with a tough opponent who wouldn’t go away easily. “I hit him with a couple right hands and a couple uppercuts where I saw his eyes cross, but he took it,” Pichel told MMAjunkie. “It’s a little discouraging when you hit someone and you see their eyes cross, and they just wake back up.” Pichel (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) managed to edge out Silva (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in that competitive final round, and when he took to the microphone after his unanimous decision victory at UFC on FOX 27 he took aim at, of all people, fellow UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta . Vinc @FromHellPichel beats Joaquim Silva by unanimous decision…and has a callout for @aliaquinta ! #UFCCharlotte https://t.co/rJFhqcbP4Y — FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) January 27, 2018 It was a bit of a strange callout, in part because, as Pichel noted in his post-fight interview in the cage, Iaquinta already has an opponent lined up after agreeing to face Paul Felder at UFC 223 on April 7 . But as Pichel explained backstage, it’s a rematch he’s wanted ever since the two met in the semifinals of Season 15 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” “He beat me on ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’” Pichel said.
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Vinc Pichel’s callout of Al Iaquinta stems from ‘TUF’ wound that dates back to 2012 – MMA Junkie