BOSTON – Saturday’s UFC 292 marks the seventh card the promotion has held in Boston, but it is the first of the bunch without a single New England representative competing.
Among the local fighters watching the event as a fan will be lightweight [autotag]Joe Lauzon[/autotag], who has not competed since 2019, but remains open to another fight or two should a prime opportunity present itself.
At a Q&A held Friday at TD Garden prior to ceremonial faceoffs, Lauzon (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) confirmed, as reported previously by MMA Junkie, he saw UFC 292 as an event that excited him and attempted to get on the card, but was turned down. He added he also requested a specific opponent.
“I tried. I tried. It didn’t work out,” Lauzon said. “… I texted many, many times. I was told my services were not needed. … I would’ve fought whoever, but I really wanted to fight [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]. He had just beat Nick Fiore, who is another local guy. I feel like it’d be a really good matchup for me. It could’ve maybe been the last one, but it just didn’t come together. I tried. I really, really tried, but it didn’t work out.”
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Lauzon, 39, has the longest continuous tenure of any fighter on the promotion’s current roster. Since his promotional debut at UFC 93 in 2006, Lauzon has competed 27 times under the promotion’s banner. He is fourth all-time in performance bonuses, with 15 total.
Since his most recent in-cage competition nearly four years ago, Lauzon was booked three times – all against the same opponent, Donald Cerrone. However, the bout was postponed once and canceled twice, and Cerrone eventually retired.
The owner of a successful Massachusetts gym that bears his name, Lauzon said he is not dependent on fighting, but also isn’t closing the door on competition either.
“I don’t need to fight, so whatever makes sense,” Lauzon said. “If the location, the date, the opponent, if it all makes sense, I’m 100 percent down to fight again. But my gym is doing great. I don’t need to fight. It’s one of those things I really like doing. If it makes sense, I’m down (and) I’ll do it again. If we’re done, we’re done. It doesn’t matter. We’ll see.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.