[autotag]Joe Lauzon[/autotag] often gets asked the same question: “Will you fight again?”
After his dominant UFC on ESPN 6 beatdown against Jonathan Pearce in October, Lauzon (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) answered the question the same way he always has: noncommittally.
At the post-fight news conference, UFC president Dana White voiced a different opinion. White told reporters Lauzon promised he would retire after UFC on ESPN 6 and that he’d be held to his promise.
However, White’s statement was the result of a miscommunication, according to Lauzon. One of the UFC’s all-time bonus leaders, Lauzon told MMA Junkie he is confident the promotion will give him another shot – if he wants it.
“I know they’ll let me fight again,” Lauzon said. “That whole thing, I texted Dana about. I was like, ‘I don’t want you to think I’m not a man of my word.’ I sent him a screenshot of our (prior) texts. The text I sent him said, ‘If I fight again and it does not go well, I promise you’ll never hear from me. This will be my last fight if it doesn’t go well.’ He said, ‘OK, deal.’ The fight did not go poorly. The fight went great. It couldn’t have gone any better.
“… (After the press conference), I sent him a screenshot and he sent me back the emoji of the kid with his hands up. It happened so far out, though. It was like six months before, so I’m sure he was just thinking it’d be my last fight in Boston. Then, it went so well – so does it have to be my last one?”
[lawrence-related id=454168,313209]
Does it have to be Lauzon’s last one? Certainly not, said the 35-year-old fighter. But will it be? That’s a different question entirely. When he gets the fighting itch again, he plans on stepping up the training and seeing what happens.
“It’s in my heart to still fight. It 100 percent is,” Lauzon said. “It’s still in my heart to go prepare and train and go through all that stuff for sure. The logical side of my brain says, ‘You had a lot of fights in the UFC.’
“… My fight was in October, and we’re into January now. I’ve had three months to chill and relax a little bit. We’re slowly amping up the training and we’ll see what happens. I’m definitely going to keep amping things up and see how it goes. If things keep going smooth, I’ll likely fight again. If I get banged up again or something bothers me, I’ll dial it back a little bit. Then we’ll have to get another amping-up process go smooth if we’re going to fight again. The nice thing is, I don’t have to fight in the UFC. I’m sure if I want to fight again, they’ll let me fight again. If I don’t want to fight again, I’m sure they’re fine with that, too. It’s nice to be able to go at my own pace and decide for myself. … I’m a little bit torn. Day-to-day, minute-to-minute, you ask me, I’d say 60-40 I fight or 60-40 I don’t fight again.”
[lawrence-related id=454722,453355]
Coaching and fighting aren’t the only things on Lauzon’s plate. He’ll be making his commentary debut Friday at CES MMA 60 on UFC Fight Pass. With ESPN’s proximity to Massachusetts however, Lauzon isn’t ruling out a potential gig down the road.
“It’s definitely something I’d look into,” Lauzon said. “My big thing is I’m trying to focus on my gym. My gym is here in Easton, Mass. I’m not moving to (Los Angeles). I’m not moving to Las Vegas like a lot of these other commentators. They’re able to pick up and move and go wherever.
“ESPN is in Connecticut, which is not super far away. That wouldn’t be terrible. It’s a little bit of a drive, but not bad. Who knows? I might do commentary on Friday and I might suck. I could be terrible. I think I’ll be good, but we’ll see.”
CES MMA 60 takes place Friday at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. The main card streams on UFC Fight Pass.