Despite losing a decision January 2 to Sam Stout, popular lightweight Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon (18-5, 5 [T]KOs, 13 submissions) hopes that his next fight will be this August in UFC’s debut in Boston.
Lauzon, a native of E. Bridgewater (MA), would certainly be a hometown favorite fighting at the Boston Garden. “We’ll see how it goes but I certainly want to fight at home in Boston,” Lauzon said. “I’d like to fight before that, where my fight against Stout was my first in 10 months, but not if it risks fighting in Boston this August.”
Sidelined for 10 months after undergoing knee surgery to repair his ACL, Lauzon re-entered the Octagon against Stout in Las Vegas, participating in the UFC 108 Pay-per-view “Fight of the Night.”
"I'm obviously disappointed in the result,” the star of The Ultimate Fighter 5 television reality show said. “It was an entertaining fight, but that’s not what I want to be known for. I focused on the health of my knee and it held up. I didn’t concentrate on my overall condition and I was a little rusty. I trained like a maniac six days of the week, twice a day, and then I couldn’t do too much for six months (due to his knee surgery).
“I definitely thought I had Stout in the first round but he had other plans. I felt his shoulder pop and I really thought that I had him. I guess it wasn’t meant to be. I expected him to be tough. His takedown defense was better than I thought. I thought I’d have an easier time on the ground, too. He came to fight with a perfect game plan. Give him credit for a good fight. I’d like to fight him in a rematch but, then again, I’d like to fight anybody I’ve lost to but that doesn’t happen very often and is out of my control.”
