Joe Lauzon is a bonus machine. During his UFC tenure he has compiled 12 fight-night bonuses, a grand total comprised of six Submission of the Night awards, five Fight of the Night honors and one Knockout of the Night victory.
That number puts him in a tie with Anderson Silva for the most bonuses garnered by a UFC fighter. But apparently, no-one ever taught Lauzon that sharing was nice.
During an interview with MMA Junkie, Lauzon expressed his desire to pull ahead of Silva and claim the bonus title for himself.
“This is my opportunity, so I’m going to get a bonus, then petition to get it changed to the ‘Joe Lauzon bonus,'” the 155-pounder kidded. “I’ll tell Dana [White] I changed my stance on fighter pay, and that we need to do away with bonuses, so I could remain the all-time leader.”
But first things first for Lauzon. He’ll have to score a nice finish, or at least put on a good show, when he takes on Michael Johnson this August 27 at UFC Fight Night 26.
Johnson will enter the fight coming off two consecutive defeats. It is very much a must-win matchup for the 27-year-old, and if he comes out fighting for his job, it may just be enough to make the fight the best of the evening.
Lauzon is also coming off a loss (and Fight of the Night performance), his to Jim Miller at UFC 155. The Massachusetts native is always willing to engage in heavy-fire and will be fighting in his home state.
A desperate Johnson and a motivated Lauzon spells fireworks, no? Like, bonus fireworks?
Well, we’ll just have to wait and see whether Lauzon can take top spot on the UFC all-time bonus list. The UFC Fight Night 26 card is overflowing his competitive pairings and deadly finishers, so it certainly won’t come easy.
But Lauzon hasn’t amassed such an impressive resume by accident. It’s quite possible he pulls it off.
Of course, he’ll probably be happy with a win any way it comes.
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