Joe Lauzon is glad you liked the fight. He really is. However, if winning fan appeal and UFC bonus money means taking a beating like the one he took against Jim Miller at UFC 155, you can have it.
That was the message Lauzon (22-8) conveyed to MMAJunkie in an interview published on Wednesday.
I want to have exciting fights, but I don’t want to be the guy that’s exciting because he gets beat up so much. I want to demonstrate my skills and submit people and beat other people up.
For his gutty, though ultimately losing performance against Miller, Lauzon earned clear Fight of the Night honors and received accolades from around the Internet and even some informal best-fight-of-the-year nods. Lauzon also estimated he racked up “about $100,000” for his effort on Saturday night, including the bonus. Not too shabby for a night’s work. Plus, the bonus brought his career bonus total to 12—tied with Anderson Silva for the most in UFC history.
But the love and the dollars exacted a steep physical price on Saturday night.
In the first round, Miller sliced open Lauzon‘s head with punches and elbows. For the balance of the bout, Lauzon fought with blood sheeting down his face, covering his eyes and dripping heavily onto Miller and the canvas mat. The cuts eventually required 40 stitches to close.
Lauzon said he’ll keep looking for bonuses, but hopefully not at the expense of his own well-being.
I don’t want to have wars if that means I’m going to forget my own name. If it got to that point, I would reassess everything and take a step back…I wish it could have been a Submission of the Night. I’ve got to hope that this next fight isn’t super exciting and I get one over.
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