Tag: Joe Lauzon

UFC Austin gets Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon rebooking

Three days after it was removed, Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon is back on the promotion’s schedule – and they’ll still fight in front of a crowd.

Three days after it was scrapped from UFC 274, [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Joe Lauzon[/autotag] is back on the promotion’s schedule.

At the upcoming UFC Fight Night event June 18 in Austin, Texas, Cerrone (36-16-1 MMA, 29-16-1 UFC) and Lauzon (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) will square off, barring any unforeseen circumstances. The card takes place at Moody Center with the main card airing on ESPN2 after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the rebooking Tuesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. ESPN was first to report the news.

The bout originally was scheduled for UFC 274 this past Saturday but was canceled at the start of the preliminary card broadcast after Cerrone fell ill. His team later said they think his illness was food poisoning. In the wake of the cancellation, Cerrone revealed he expects to fight Lauzon and then one more fight before he retires.

Lauzon revealed Monday on “The MMA Hour” that the promotion payed him his show money and Venum uniform money, which totaled around $95,000.

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Cerrone (36-16 MMA, 23-13 UFC) looks to snap a six-fight winless streak that includes five losses (four by finish) and one no contest. Cerrone’s most recent win occurred in May 2019 when he dominated Al Iaquinta en route to a unanimous decision.

Lauzon (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) has not competed since October 2019 when he returned from an 18-month layoff. In front of his home crowd in Boston, Lauzon finished Jonathan Pearce with punches to snap a three-fight losing skid. After the fight, UFC president Dana White said Lauzon indicated the fight would be his last, a claim the fighter disputed.

With the addition, the UFC Austin lineup includes:

  • Josh Emmett vs. Calvin Kattar
  • Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon
  • Kevin Holland vs. Tim Means
  • Julian Marquez vs. Gregory Rodrigues
  • Phil Hawes vs. Deron Winn
  • Kyle Daukaus vs. Roman Dolidze
  • Gloria de Paula vs. Maria Oliveira
  • JP Buys vs. Cody Durden
  • Jamsine Jasudavicius vs. Natalia Silva
  • Damir Ismagulov vs. Guram Kutateladze
  • Cody Stamann vs. Eddie Wineland
  • Court McGee vs. Jeremiah Wells

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UFC 274: Quick picks and prognostications

MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom gives quick breakdowns and his predictions for the main card of UFC 274.

MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main card for UFC 274.

UFC 274 takes place Saturday at Footprint Center in Phoenix. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

Last event’s results: 3-3

Overall picks for UFC main cards in 2022: 41-17

Welcome to MMA Junkie’s quick picks and prognostications, where I’ll be giving brief, fight-day breakdowns for UFC main cards.

With that in mind, I hope these write-ups don’t come off as curt or dismissive, as my goal here is to offer quick picks and analysis in a digestible format. All odds listed are provided by Tipico Sportsbook.

If you’d like more detailed analysis from me, then feel free to check out my weekly show, The Protect Ya’ Neck Podcast.

So, without further ado…

Joe Lauzon excited for veteran matchup against Donald Cerrone: ‘How did it not happen before?’

Joe Lauzon is glad he finally crossed paths with fellow UFC veteran Donald Cerrone.

[autotag]Joe Lauzon[/autotag] is not one to shy away from a good scrap, but there was something special in his next fight that left him no choice but to accept.

Lauzon (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) was offered to fight fellow veteran Donald Cerrone in a lightweight showdown for a UFC event on April 30. Something lit up in the 37-year-old when offered to fight Cerrone (36-16 MMA, 23-13 UFC), and he had no hesitation in accepting the bout.

“It’s just like, how did it not happen before?,” Lauzon told MMA Junkie Radio. “Honestly, he wasn’t a guy I thought about fighting, but when they offered him, I was like, ‘Ah that’s a name. That’s the right name. That’s the name we need.’

“He’s a little bit older than me, but we’re both the same generation. We’ve been in this a long time. He’s been much more active in the last four, five years that I have, but I think that’s kind of to my advantage I think. It’s a great fight. It’s a good, exciting fight.”

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Both Lauzon and Cerrone are as experienced as they come. The two fighters have a combined 64 UFC appearances.

Although both competitors are fan-favorite fighters, who’ve logged many Fight of the Night bonuses throughout their careers, retirement talk has surrounded their recent fights given their age and years in the sport. Lauzon is not ready to say this bout will be his last one, but he knows the end is near.

“I had to ask my coaches when they offered the fight, ‘Do we want to fight ‘Cowboy’?'” Lauzon said. “They all liked the fight, they all think it’s a good matchup. But then, OK, let’s say ‘Cowboy’ is out altogether, should I be fighting at all?

“… My last fight was awesome. If that were my last fight that’d be a great career and could’ve been the end of it and I would’ve been happy going forward. So if you guys think I shouldn’t fight, then we don’t have to do that. But if you think I should roll the dice one more time, then we can do that too. And we decided to take the fight. … We rolled the dice, we’re back on the same boat. I should know better and I should know when it’s the last one, but I don’t think I’m ready to say that.”

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UFC targeting Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon for April 30 event

The two fighters have a combined 73 UFC appearances.

Two of the longest-tenured and most notable fighters on the UFC roster are on a collision course for a lightweight showdown.

The promotion is targeting an April 30 bout between [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Lauzon[/autotag] for a UFC Fight Night event, which will take place at a location and venue still to be announced.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

The two fighters have a combined 73 UFC appearances.

Cerrone (36-16-1 MMA, 29-16-1 UFC) looks to snap a six-fight winless streak that includes five losses (four by finish) and one no contest. Cerrone’s most recent win occurred in May 2019 when he dominated Al Iaquinta en route to a unanimous decision.

Lauzon (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) has not competed since October 2019 when he returned from an 18-month layoff. In front of his home crowd in Boston, Lauzon finished Jonathan Pearce with punches to snap a three-fight losing skid. After the fight, UFC president Dana White said Lauzon indicated the fight would be his last, a claim the fighter disputed.

With the addition, the April 30 lineup includes:

  • Cortney Casey vs. Antonina Shevchenko
  • Gina Mazany vs. Shanna Young
  • Francisco Figueiredo vs. Daniel da Silva
  • Mike Breeden vs. Natan Levy
  • Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon

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Fight Vault: Top 5 UFC debuts includes Justin Gaethje’s flippin’ awesome win

MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom delves into the archives to present his top five UFC debuts of all time.

Welcome to Dan Tom’s “Fight Vault,” where MMA Junkie’s resident fight analyst delves into the archives to select his top five.

Today we look at the top five UFC debuts of all time.

The list includes classic first impressions inside the octagon from the likes of eventual champions [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag], [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] and [autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag], as well as [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Lauzon[/autotag]. But whose UFC debut ranks No. 1?

Watch the countdown in the video above.

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You can check out “The Protect Ya’ Neck Podcast” with Dan Tom for more on this top five and others.

Fight footage courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s official digital subscription service, which is currently offering a seven-day free trial. UFC Fight Pass gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s biggest fight library.

Joe Lauzon noncommittal on future, confident UFC will allow him to fight again – if he wants it

Joe Lauzon often gets asked the same question, “Will you fight again?”

[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?”

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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.”

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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.