At UFC 63 on September 23, heavy underdog and relative unknown Joe Lauzon (14-3) stunned the mixed martial arts world with a first round knockout of former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver (21-7-1).
Then, the 23-year-old from Bridgewater, Massachusetts, faded into relative oblivion, apparently resuming his job as a network administrator back home.
I must average about five emails per week, asking me when and where we will Lauzon fight next. So, apologies for not passing this news along sooner.
But, chances are we’re going to see a lot of “J-Lau” (lord I hope that nickname is a joke) in the next few months, according to MMAWeekly.com.
In an odd twist, Lauzon is slated to appear on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5. Pulver, of course, is one of the two coaches — BJ Penn is the other.
A few weeks back, we shared the rumor that Joe’s brother and fellow UFC fighter, Dan, was to appear on the program. That has turned out to be incorrect.
Now, Joe appears to be in the spotlight alongside some extremely talented competitors such as Nathan Diaz and Matt Wiman. All told, 16 155-pound fighters will vie for a six-figure UFC contract (s).
The show has already began taping an will premier on April 5, following the UFC Fight Night 9 event that same evening.
UFC President Dana White was recently quoted as saying the season is off to an amazing start, with one of the best fights in the history of the program already taking place.
He could just be up to his usual antics. However, based on the format, fighters and coaches, I’m buying into the hype this time around.
That’s because TUF 5 has all the makings of an entertaining season. The Lauzon-Pulver subplot alone is genius.
Get ready to see that knockout 50 times come April …
10 Comments »
Pulver had it coming. He walked into the cage blowing kisses and waving to the fans like he just came back from Iraq with a purple heart. I think he was too busy patting himself on the back to see it coming.
Great thing about a guy like Pulver is hes a man. He lost that fight and admitted he took it a lil too lightly and got what he deserved. The way he fights you know a loss like that will only make him a better fighter, the Penn Pulver rematch is gunna be a great fight. I think both these guys can be great coaches too, Pulver comes from Militech so we know he is up to coach and Penn although he doesnt enjoy training cardio is a ridiculous ju jitsu guy and can teach these cats the ground game to perfection all in all with only 1 weight class this season deeping the matchups and talent pool im siked.
Coach Pulver to trainee Lauzon, “Now here’s how you block a right hand.” Trainee Lauzon to coach Pulver, “Yeah, right.”
AWKARD
Quoted from another so this isn’t me genius:
Pulver: “No, you do it like THIS”
J-Lau: “What do you know? I beat you like you commited a crime!”
Either way J-Lau’s an awsome guy and would be a great face to see in the UFC Regulars.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7278283080544814131&q=joe lauzon&pr=goog-sl
If it doesnt hyperlink, just cut and paste. It’s ten mins long, but worth the watch. This kid is the new generation that is spoken of. The kids who RIGHT NOW are not just learning wrestling or karate and taking up the rest later, but a kid who is learning it ALL at early age. This kid is the real deal. Check out the BJJ!
thanks morethanufc, thats was pretty cool…the kids a beast
Since there have been no official confirmations as to who is fighting on TUF 5, one can only speculate.
But it seems that Nate Diaz is a sure thing. On a video put out by Sherdog prior to the Pride fight in Vegas, Nick Diaz keeps saying he couldnt train with his brother because, “you know, he’s doing his thing,”, “He’s got his thing going on right now.” Hmmm, what could it be?