Less than a month after making a triumphant return to the UFC Octagon after over nine months away, lightweight star Joe Lauzon agreed to fight again, as a late-notice fill-in against Diego Sanchez (25-7) in Mexico City Nov. 15. The UFC 180 featured bout was announced Friday, after what Lauzon (24-9) tells Cagewriter was a sudden series of Thursday night moves.
"My manager called me up and asked if I wanted to fight Diego because he needed an opponent, and I laughed and said, 'sure.' I thought he was going to end up fighting [Conor] McGregor but he told me he checked with the UFC and that wasn't happening. Then, it became a bit more real, and I told him, 'yeah, I'll fight him.' He called the UFC, and a couple hours later we had the fight," Lauzon remembers.
The fighter had been back in the gym he owns regularly since his Sep. 5 TKO of Michael Chiesa, but was not yet training at the intensity and pace as he would for a fight. Now, Lauzon jumps back into an abbreviated camp to fight one of the UFC's biggest names, in what will doubtless feel like home to the Mexican-descended Sanchez.
Lauzon said the fight appealed to him for several reasons. "It's cool that the fight is in Mexico," he says.
"Also, my last two wins were against two Ultimate Fighter winners (Chiesa and Mac Danzig), so it would be neat to face a winner of the original TUF. Plus, Diego always has exciting fights. So, I think we can put on a great fight."
Sanchez has appeared much worse for wear after a long and violent career, losing three out of four fights before being gifted a controversially bad split decision in his home town of Albuquerque against Ross Pearson in June. Lauzon knows that the former lightweight title challenger is still dangerous, and particularly good at sucking opponents into his type of fight.
For his part, Lauzon is a cerebral fighter who is also known for his blood and guts performances over the years. "Baby Joe" says he'll try to fight smart and tactical against Sanchez, but can't promise that things won't turn nasty.
"Diego has amazing Jiu Jitsu," Lauzon begins.
"I've watched him his whole career. He hasn't used his grappling too much lately, and I know he has not been doing so well, but he's so tough and dangerous. I'm going to try and fight smart against him - that's definitely going to be my idea. But, he's so good at getting guys to fight his type of fight, and brawl. Someone is probably going to end up bleeding."
Fans on The Underground discussion forum have already begun producing good-natured movie poster-designs of what they expect to be an epic battle between Lauzon and Sanchez. Do you think the fight between these two strong grapplers will turn into a slug fest on the feet?
Let us know how you see it going in the comments section!
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