Joe Lauzon

Joe Lauzon: With College Finished, Lauzon Readies for His MMA Graduation Day
By Thomas Gerbasi

Joe Lauzon calls it the “biggest relief ever.” No, it wasn’t getting the call to compete in the UFC after a lot of blood, sweat, and tears spent fighting in smaller shows, but instead, the New Englander could finally breathe earlier this summer when he wrapped up his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the Wentworth Institute of Technology.

It’s just one of the goals he could put in the ‘accomplished’ column though; now Lauzon can move on to the next mountain to climb, one named Jens Pulver, the former UFC lightweight champion who he will be fighting at UFC 63 on September 23rd. That’s some way to make your debut.

“I think it’s a real tough fight,” said Lauzon. “But I think I’d rather fight Jens than one of the other 155ers. Jens is a really good fighter, but he’s primarily a striker. He has good wrestling and he doesn’t cut a lot of weight, which is a big deal. So at least I’ll be fighting a guy my size and not somebody like (Joe) Stevenson, who’s cutting a ton of weight. And if I was fighting a grappler that was that much bigger than me, it would make it a little tougher.”

Like Pulver, Lauzon is a smallish lightweight framewise (though he does hold a three-inch height advantage over the former champ), so there’s no true edge for either man there, but the real gap between the two is in world-class experience, with ‘Lil’ Evil’ miles ahead in terms of facing top-quality opposition on a consistent basis. And with all the hype surrounding Pulver’s return to the UFC after over four years, you have to wonder if Lauzon feels insulted about presumably being brought in as a sacrificial lamb for a prodigal son.

“Not so much insulted,” admits Lauzon. “I understand 100% that they’re bringing me in to lose and they’re hoping that it’s a highlight reel type of fight that Jens is just gonna knock me out and it’s gonna hype everything else. So I know that, but at the same time it’s a win-win situation. As long as I go in there and don’t get killed, it’s gonna be a good fight and I’ll be back. So I’m not insulted – it’s gonna be fun. I’m training as much as I can and whatever happens happens.”

Mixing in training with his day job as a network administrator, the Brockton, Massachusetts native has found a nice balance with his life in the ring and outside of it, and for now, having fighting as a part-time gig keeps it fresh for him.

“I have no pressure,” he said. “Win or lose, I’m coming back to my job on Monday. I don’t want to make fighting a full-time thing. I like to fight as hard as I can, but if I was fighting and training full-time, then it becomes a job and I think I’d lose interest in it. You can take anything you enjoy, and if you’re forced to do it every single day when you get up, it’s not gonna be fun, no matter what it is.”

And if one thing’s evident from watching Lauzon fight, it’s that he’s enjoying what he’s doing. Whether it’s his aggression, his desire to finish fights or his sometimes unorthodox methods to land a submission to end a bout, the 12-3 lightweight has made an impression on those who have seen him in action.

“The fans can expect a fight,” said Lauzon. “None of my pro fights have gone to a decision and one way or another, it’s probably gonna end in the first round. I’m either gonna get knocked out or I’m gonna take him down, knock him around and submit him. Something’s gonna happen, and it’s not gonna go to a decision. It will be action-packed.”

Considering the styles of both men, that’s a given. Pulver will swing for the fences while standing, and though Lauzon will never shy away from a stand-up scrap, he will most likely try to work his submissions on Pulver from the ground.

“From my perspective I really don’t think he’s gonna want to be on the ground with me whatsoever,” said Lauzon.
“So I’m sure that he’s gonna be ready to bang. I really don’t see him trying to shoot in and take me down, because for the most part, I’m way more dangerous on the ground than I am standing. So he should want to keep it where I’m weakest, which would be standing.”

Then again, the 22-year-old does have that New England attitude where if he gets hit, he just has to stand there until he gets in two shots back, so game plans may fly out the window once the fists start flying. But the beauty of MMA is that if the standup game isn’t working for Lauzon, he can try to take it to the mat. It’s what attracted him to the sport in the first place.

“It started out just grappling and training with my friends,” said Lauzon of his introduction to MMA. “Then they started getting into fights and I was doing well against them, so I began fighting. It’s good competition and it’s not like anything else. You have stuff like boxing, but it’s a little limited. In MMA, you can go in any direction you want. You can take someone down, you can stand with them, you can submit them, and I like the fact that it’s such a diverse sport.”

And once he started fighting, he was hooked.

“I have an obsessive personality, so once I start doing something, that’s all I do,” he said.

That doesn’t mean he’s giving up the day job anytime soon though.

“We’d have to see about that,” he admits. “I’ve got huge school loans. I’m not gonna pay off my school loans and have the type of life I want just fighting. You can get hurt at anytime, I like my job and they’re pretty good about letting me take time off and work on a training schedule and stuff like that. I’m not gonna pay off $90,000 in loans by fighting.”

At least not now. But with a win over Pulver and a few more victories in the bank, Joe Lauzon could be knocking on the door for a lightweight title shot, and then he may be rethinking fighting as a full-time endeavor. That’s all in the future though. For now, Lauzon is focusing solely on Pulver and enjoying everything that comes with making your UFC debut.

“It’s gonna be a fun ride,” said Lauzon.