UFC Austin went down this past Saturday night (June 18, 2022) inside Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The event featured a several intriguing matchups which included nine finishes, prompting the promotion to dish out a record-setting 10 post-fight bonus awards.
But much of the talk was about a fight that didn’t happen, again.
After Donald Cerrone was forced out of his scheduled fight against Joe Lauzon in April, the fight was ultimately moved to UFC 274 the following month for no specific reason. The day of the fight, however, it was revealed that it would no longer go down after “Cowboy” bowed out as a result of getting sick from bad cuisine in Phoenix.
The 155-pound scrap was eventually moved to UFC Austin, much to the delight of fight fans because despite their recent woes, the two men have always been fan-favorites due to their striking-friendly style of fighting. But as luck would have it, the fight was cancelled yet again…and the day of the fight, coincidentally.
This time it was Lauzon who couldn’t make it to the cage after he suffered an inexplicable knee injury, therefore preventing him from competing. Once again, the two bonus-collecting combatants were left without a fight.
While it’s not quite Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson amounts of cancellations, it gets just as annoying. That’s why UFC president Dana White has declared that he will not book the fight for a fourth time.
“That thing’s getting like Tony [Ferguson] and Khabib [Nurmagomedov],” White said at the post-fight press conference (via MMA Fighting). “No, I will not book that fight again.”
According to Cerrone, however, he still wants the fight and is bound to make it happen one way or another.
“Joe texted me (on Saturday morning) and said, ‘Sorry, brother. I can’t stand on my leg,’ and I was like, ‘Well, we’re (1-1) now, ain’t we?’” Cerrone told ESPN (via MMA Junkie). “Joe is a game dude, so it’s not like he’s making something up. I know Joe just wouldn’t pull anything, so heal up brother, and we’ll make it happen one day. Of course (I’d like that fight). I don’t know what’s wrong with his knee or how long it’s going to take, but we’re already in the talks. We’ll hear real soon.”
Ironically, all it took was a YouTube tutorial to heal Lauzon’s knee back up. but it was too little too late. That said, if both men want it, why is White so adamant about NOT rebooking it?
It’s not like these two warriors are making stuff up in order to not fight. Plus, if they get booked to face someone else they are not somehow going to be immune to getting food poisoning or freak injuries.
Right?