A bout between lightweights Kenny Florian (7-3) and Joe Lauzon (16-3) could headline a UFC Fight Night special on Wednesday, April 2, 2008, according to FightNetwork.com.
Contracts have not been signed at this time; however, that is expected to change “shortly.” No venue has been selected for the SpikeTV event.
Florian is on a three-fight tear, stopping Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Alvin Robinson and Din Thomas since losing the vacant lightweight title match to Sean Sherk via unanimous decision in October 2006.
He has picked up the tongue-and-cheek nickname “The Finisher” on message boards and Internet forums for his recent emphasis (verbal and physical) on ending fights early.
It sure beats “Ken-Flo.”
Coincidentally, Florian will possibly lock horns with the owner of perhaps the worst nickname in mixed martial arts, “J-Lau.”
Lauzon has been victorious in his last six fights, including three inside the Octagon against Jens Pulver, Brandon Melendez and Jason Reinhardt.
None of those fights have gone the distance, either.
It was speculated that Florian could fight the winner of the bout between Roger Huerta and Clay Guida to determine a top contender in the 155-pound division because Florian joined the announcers during the showdown.
“El Matador” stated after his sensational win, however, that he was taking some much-needed time off from competition after a busy 2007.
Either way a clash between Florian and Lauzon is a good one … one that more than likely should be exciting from bell-to-bell.
However long that lasts.
45 Comments »
I thought BJ gave Joe the nickname “Creepy” on TUF 5. That is definitely WAY better than a nickname after a pop star/actress. At least his fights are more entertaining that Gigli ….
ok, back to the topic, this fight would be nasty if it happens.
good fight, must be the one in palms casino, i think ken flo will submit him
With BJ Penn and Rudy Valentino’s guidance, Baby Joe will be nearly unstoppable.
Little Joe is not ready for Florian… close but not yet
Lauzon is gonna get subbed easily
[quote comment=”245901″]With BJ Penn and Rudy Valentino’s guidance, Baby Joe will be nearly unstoppable.[/quote]
I don’t konw man, didnt’ FLorian train outta his TUF series with Penn’s gym also about a year ago? Penn’s two little proteges matching up, this otta be goooooooood.
I really like both these guys, but ima side with Joe, he’s looked really really good, hope he is ready for Florian.
“JLau” will submit Florian with a RNC BJ Penn style.
Joe’s skill is probably near top 10 in the division, but as far as experience goes, I don’t think he is close. I mean, I can’t see him beating Tyson Griffin, Frankie Edgar, Huerta, Guida, Daddy, Penn, Sherk, or Florian. He needs to be built up at bit more before they throw him in with Florian.
Din Thomas or Thiago Tavares would make good matches.
Or throw him in there with Nate Diaz…
Joe, blindfolded, by whatever he wants. No, but should be a good fight. Florian should win this one.
[quote comment=”245895″]good fight, must be the one in palms casino, i think ken flo will submit him[/quote]
I heard that in 2008 that the UFC was going to expand out of Vegas and Florida for these “Fight Night” shows. It might not be at the palms or the Hard Rock in Fla.
hummmmmmmm..nice match up..for the MAss. bragging rights. I give the edge to Kenny..but Lauzon has the ability to upset Florian.
[quote comment=”245915″][quote comment=”245901″]With BJ Penn and Rudy Valentino’s guidance, Baby Joe will be nearly unstoppable.[/quote]
I don’t konw man, didnt’ FLorian train outta his TUF series with Penn’s gym also about a year ago? Penn’s two little proteges matching up, this otta be goooooooood.
I really like both these guys, but ima side with Joe, he’s looked really really good, hope he is ready for Florian.[/quote]
I guess I’m letting my emotions take over reality. I really do think Joe has a chance against KenFlo, but I wish Joe got another tune-up fight. I really like both fighters to, but I would love to see Joe Lauzon take this one. Whatever happens, I think it will be a good fight and I wish both fighters well.
They are both really well rounded but Kenny is just a little better than Joe. It will be a hell of a fight if it does happen though.
Check out this video from BJ PENN’s website. Look at his abs, he looks ripped. The “Drive-Inn” in the video is in my opinion the second best drive-inn in Hilo.
http://www.bjpenn.com/learn/tvstationkw.php?article_id=864
Great fight!
[quote comment=”245949″]Check out this video from BJ PENN’s website. Look at his abs, he looks ripped. The “Drive-Inn” in the video is in my opinion the second best drive-inn in Hilo.
http://www.bjpenn.com/learn/tvstationkw.php?article_id=864/quote
DAAAAANK, not that appearance and looks have much to do with fighting abilty, but that fool is on his way to a GSP body!!…Almost.
joe does not deserve to fight florian
[quote comment=”245957″][quote comment=”245949″]Check out this video from BJ PENN’s website. Look at his abs, he looks ripped. The “Drive-Inn” in the video is in my opinion the second best drive-inn in Hilo.
http://www.bjpenn.com/learn/tvstationkw.php?article_id=864/quote
DAAAAANK, not that appearance and looks have much to do with fighting abilty, but that fool is on his way to a GSP body!!…Almost.[/quote]
Dang did he say 162 was too light? This is recent right? I’m assumnig he wants be as big as he can be for his LW bout, so will be above 155 then lose the water weight for the weigh ins and gain it right back. But is he really gonna lose like 7 pounds of water weight? I don’t get how 162 is too light.
[quote comment=”245957″][quote comment=”245949″]Check out this video from BJ PENN’s website. Look at his abs, he looks ripped. The “Drive-Inn” in the video is in my opinion the second best drive-inn in Hilo.
http://www.bjpenn.com/learn/tvstationkw.php?article_id=864/quote
DAAAAANK, not that appearance and looks have much to do with fighting abilty, but that fool is on his way to a GSP body!!…Almost.[/quote]
One can only hope, one can only hope
I’ll be very surprised if Florian doesn’t win this fight.
[quote comment=”245905″]Little Joe is not ready for Florian… close but not yet[/quote]
Couldn’t agree more, Thorazine. I really like Joe Lauzon - I just don’t think he’s ready for Ken-Flo yet.
Maybe I’ll get a nice surprise…
Man, the UFC is giving Florian a lonnnng road back to contender status. He’s won 3 in a row and still doesn’t get a chance to fight for #1 contender. Great matchup though. Joe’s a beast in the making, but Florian gets the edge. Respect to Kenny for taking his game to new levels instead of bitching and whining like most would in his situation.
Only thing I don’t like about the fight is that I don’t want either fighter to lose. If Florian loses to Lauzon, it’s gonna be weird.. because I don’t think that should give Joe the right to step over Florian in the rankings. And I definitely don’t want Joe to lose. I was hoping the UFC would give him an easier fight at this stage of his development. Then again, there aren’t many easy fights in the LW division. Looking forward to it anyway.
If Penn can step into that ring looking the way he looks in that video and plus 10 or 15 pounds after weight in Joe Daddy won’t stand much of a chance. That video maybe the healthiest looking BJ anyone has ever seen.
Hammil vs Bonnar is being talked about. ( why do TUf seasons fighters always fight eachother?? ) In Hammil’s case I rather see him fight Bisping at 185..Bisping is running scared.
No disrespect to Joe, but he doesn’t deserve a fight with a top five fighter yet. I think Joe will be a champion one day, but he needs to win a couple more fights against some of the fringe guys. Why not Edgar?
I think you guys are overhyping ken-flo. yes hes good, but bigger fighters (i.e. diego) give him a tough time. I think if Joe can keep the momentum and out-muscle ken-flo he’s got a good chance–but i wouldn’t bet money on it.
[quote post=”4324″]Man, the UFC is giving Florian a lonnnng road back to contender status. He’s won 3 in a row and still doesn’t get a chance to fight for #1 contender. Great matchup though. Joe’s a beast in the making, but Florian gets the edge. Respect to Kenny for taking his game to new levels instead of bitching and whining like most would in his situation.
Only thing I don’t like about the fight is that I don’t want either fighter to lose. If Florian loses to Lauzon, it’s gonna be weird.. because I don’t think that should give Joe the right to step over Florian in the rankings. And I definitely don’t want Joe to lose. I was hoping the UFC would give him an easier fight at this stage of his development. Then again, there aren’t many easy fights in the LW division. Looking forward to it anyway. [/quote]
I agree. Joe Lauzon is not ready to be fighting someone that is undoubtedly in the Top 4 of the LW division. Is Lauzon even appearing in the Top 10 yet? I don’t think so. Florian can easily sit back and wait for this whole Penn/Stevenson/Sherk situation to unfold before taking another fight, since he is already positioned to be in a #1 contender fight.
But like I had said a week ago, in a post about Huerta when people were saying that Huerta has only fought nobodies, I brought up Kenny Florian’s list of opponents. Here is a copy/paste from my post in that thread:
******************************************************
I, like everyone else, have Kenny Florian sitting pretty, waiting for someone to emerge as worthy to fight him to be #1 contender once he championship situation is settled. But in all fairness to Roger Huerta, who has Kenny Florian beaten?
After losing the TUF finale to Diego, Kenny fought and beat (in order):
Alex Karalexis
Kit Cope
Sam Stout
(lost to Sherk)
Dokonjonosuke Mishima
Alvin Robinson
Din Thomas
Din is the only real name on that list, and look how that fight ended. He won due to freak injury. Granted, Kenny finished every single one of his opponents (except for Sherk obviously), but why do we all have him as the clear cut contender to the LW belt? Tyson Griffin has had way tougher fights than KenFlo, yet he is a couple fights away from contendership. I guess it all boils down to - Look what a reality show can do for you.
**************************************************************
Joe Lauzon holds a win over a former UFC champion, Jens Pulver. That is more than Kenny can say. I still give Kenny the edge in this fight, but the edge is not as big as it usually is for Kenny. Lauzon will have a difinitive reach advantage on him, and has better standup. With Kenny, you just gotta be super carefull of those vicous muay thai elbows. But actually, training with Mark Dellagrade, Kenny’s muay thai has become much better overall. On the ground, Kenny has a big advantage. Although, Lauzon is quite good at scrambling, and has been training with BJ. If the odds are close, I would bet a lot on Florian. However, if Lauzon is a big underdog, dropping a few bucks on Lauzon wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Joe is a very promising fighter, and may be the most polished and READY fighter to come out of the TUF 5 season including Diaz, but I really do not think that he is ready to beat Florian. Joe is GAME, so it will be interesting, but Florian is on a whole other elite level right now that Joe has yet to reach.
I would actually be surprised if the UFC feeds Joe to Florian. TUF studs like Joe arent usually put at risk so soon in there UFC careers. It seems a little to early for Joe to be in a main event against a guy like Florian. I am really surprised if Dana doesnt protect Joe for atleast another 2 or 3 fights, until throwing him in there with an elite guy.
It seems like the UFC is willing to trade off building Joe into a top caliber fighter for a quick main event payday…
I dont think that this fight will take place.
[quote comment=”246334″]I think you guys are overhyping ken-flo. yes hes good, but bigger fighters (i.e. diego) give him a tough time. I think if Joe can keep the momentum and out-muscle ken-flo he’s got a good chance–but i wouldn’t bet money on it.[/quote]
Kill-Flo fought Diego at 30 pounds over his natural weight. Of course he’s going to have trouble there. And his only other loss in the UFC was to Roid Shark, which you can hardly count against Florian. Skill-wise, I think Kill-Flo is a half-step below Penn and above everyone else. J-Lo is capable of a one-punch KO, but I think he’s really in over his head here.
[quote comment=”246019″][quote comment=”245905″]Little Joe is not ready for Florian… close but not yet[/quote]
Couldn’t agree more, Thorazine. I really like Joe Lauzon - I just don’t think he’s ready for Ken-Flo yet.
Maybe I’ll get a nice surprise…[/quote]
Did anybody here think that Lauzon was ready for Jens Pulver???? We all know what happened there!
F–K florian.hope joe beats the brakes off that bitch.
[quote comment=”246416″][quote comment=”246019″][quote comment=”245905″]Little Joe is not ready for Florian… close but not yet[/quote]
Couldn’t agree more, Thorazine. I really like Joe Lauzon - I just don’t think he’s ready for Ken-Flo yet.
Maybe I’ll get a nice surprise…[/quote]
Did anybody here think that Lauzon was ready for Jens Pulver???? We all know what happened there![/quote]
Great point. I bet that most people were laughing when they saw Jens’s opponent that night. Lauzon walked down to the octagon looking like a 14 year old human chimpanzee.
[quote comment=”246470″][quote comment=”246416″][quote comment=”246019″][quote comment=”245905″]Little Joe is not ready for Florian… close but not yet[/quote]
Couldn’t agree more, Thorazine. I really like Joe Lauzon - I just don’t think he’s ready for Ken-Flo yet.
Maybe I’ll get a nice surprise…[/quote]
Did anybody here think that Lauzon was ready for Jens Pulver???? We all know what happened there![/quote]
Great point. I bet that most people were laughing when they saw Jens’s opponent that night. Lauzon walked down to the octagon looking like a 14 year old human chimpanzee.[/quote]
Forrest looks likeMr. Peepers, and Lauzon looks like Mr. Peepers’ evil brother.
What happened to Huerta fighting ken flo> Since the 155 division is so stacked I sometimes forget about Lauzon being in there. Expect to see Edgar with the belt around his waist sometime in 08.
ive been talking about this fight happening since joe fought reinheart raelly think this will be a huge tesat for joe and i thhink if he trains hard he can get the W
[quote comment=”246292″]Hammil vs Bonnar is being talked about. ( why do TUf seasons fighters always fight eachother?? ) In Hammil’s case I rather see him fight Bisping at 185..Bisping is running scared.[/quote]
Bonner will wreck Hamil, it wont even be close.
If BJ PENN ends up fighting at welterweight, I could see Joe holding the Lightweight belt and Penn holding the Welterweight at the same time.
[quote comment=”246891″]If BJ PENN ends up fighting at welterweight, I could see Joe holding the Lightweight belt and Penn holding the Welterweight at the same time.[/quote]
Theres no way either of thosethings would happen
[quote comment=”246925″][quote comment=”246891″]If BJ PENN ends up fighting at welterweight, I could see Joe holding the Lightweight belt and Penn holding the Welterweight at the same time.[/quote]
Theres no way either of thosethings would happen[/quote]
It will be more difficult for Joe to win the LW belt than for BJ to win the Welterweight belt. Give Joe two years, and he will be top 2 in the lightweight division. I don’t care what anyone says, but Joe was the best fighter in the TUF 5 house. I guarantee BJ PENN will not be fighting at Lightweight permanently. I truly feel his talent is too strong to stay at Lightweight. If he came to the welterweight right now, he would be in the TOP 3 in my opinion. The only person I would put ahead of him is GSP, because GSP beat him legitamately, but not convincingly.
kenny is ugly and goofy.
Lauzon has better wrestling but kenny has the better stand up(de le grotti muay-thai) and bjj ground game.. could be interesting though. i really cant call this 1!
i like both fighters though. isent it weird the way they are both from boston but have never trained together?
I THINK JOE COULD WIN……BECAUSE KENNY ISNT THE BEST AND I THINK JENS IS BETTER THAN KENNY AND JOE DESTROYED JENS AND THE ODDS WERE 7 TO 1………AND JENS DIDNT EVEN LAND A PUNCH AND KENNY FLORIAN IS LIKE REALLY SMALL FOR A LIGHTWEIGHT AND JOE HAS AWSOME TAKE DOWNS BUT KENNY HAS GREAT ELBOWS AND HIS STAND UP IS A LITTLE HIGHER BUT JOE WOULD IN I THINK AND IT WELL BE A GREAT MATCH UP BECAUSE THERE BOTH VERY SMART FIGHTERS SO I SAY JOE BY TKO OR SUB AND IF KENNY WINS BY SUB………..
THE END AND I JUST NOTICED I SAID AND 34582054 TIMES
joe has just as much experience as kenflo… all but 3 may not have been in the octagon but all have been tough fights.. give him credit, kenflo may have fought in the ufc longer and many people underestimate joe because he’s only had 3 ufc fights… joe will tear him apart on the ground … will be tough for him to get submissions but im predicting a k.o or one of his ankle locks
he only took the nickname his friends gave him. (and for you dummies who dont know combines (J)oe (Lau)zon
and they should definatly throw him in with nate diaz