Photo via UFC.com
It looks like lightweights Joe Lauzon (21-6) and Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis (12-2) will meet in February, having verbally agreed to fight each on the Super Bowl weekend card, UFC 143.
MMAWeekly.com confirmed the verbal agreements with sources close to the fight, noting that no fight agreements had been issued at that time.
UFC 143 is expected to take place on Feb. 4, Super Bowl weekend, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Shortly after Lauzon’s win over Melvin Guillard at UFC 136, Pettis camp issued a challenge to the “TUF 5″ fighter.
Lauzon was quick to accept the challenge during a Radio interview:
“I’m always down for whatever the UFC wants. It sounds like that’s a fight that’s super exciting, so I’m all about it. I talked to Joe Silva, he’s all about it, Pettis seems to be about it, I’m about it, so I’m sure it’s going to happen. I don’t know exactly when, I’m trying to get on the Super Bowl card. I think that would be awesome.”
‘J-Lau’ is coming off a quick submission win over Guillard last month at UFC 136, sinking in a rear-naked choke submission at 47-seconds of the first round. That puts Lauzon at 2-0 in his last two, and 3-1 in his last four. He has earned six straight “Fight Night” submission bonuses including four “Submission of the Night” and two “Fight of the Night” paydays for his work in the Octagon.
Pettis won a split decision over Jeremy Stephens on the same UFC 136 card, bouncing back from a loss to Clay Guida last June at the TUF 13 Finale. ‘Showtime’ had carried a four fight win streak, including winning the WEC title over Ben Henderson, into his UFC debut against Guida. ‘The Carpenter’ proved to be a tougher wrestler than Pettis had anticipated and grinded out the unanimous decision win over Pettis.