Joe Lauzon is known for winning one Fight Night bonus after another…after another.
But, the bonus well — which springs up $50,000 checks for the winners — has run dry over his last three outings for “J-Lau.”
A fight against fellow scrapper and entertainer, Diego Sanchez, will likely change all that. As Joe recently told MMA Fighting during a recent media scrum, he would welcome the fan friendly bout against Sanchez. But first, he has to be at full health.
“I would love that fight. I think that would be an awesome fight, and we talked about maybe doing that next. But it really comes down to time. I really want to make sure, you know, my last fight I didn’t get to put in the best the last couple of weeks, so going forward I want to make sure my hand is 100-percent. I don’t want to rush things. You hear all the time guys hurting their hands and it becomes a plague and then they constantly re-injure themselves. I don’t want that to be me, so, if I have to take a little extra time now to let my hand recover, I am going to do that. If Diego wants to wait, or if he wants to fight someone else and then we fight, I’m down for that, but I think it would be a really exciting fight. People were going crazy for that fight, I think it would be a good one.”
Lauzon injured his hand prior to his fight against Evan Dunham at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 22 Finale last December, which he lost via unanimous decision.
Joe was expected to face Diego on November 15, 2014 at UFC 180. However, injuries to both men forced the cancellation of the much-anticipated showdown.
While “J-Lau” is on the mend, Sanchez will face Jim Miller in his Lightweight return at UFC 196 on March 5, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. After that, a showdown against Lauzon could be in order for “The Nightmare.”
And I don’t think anyone would have a problem with booking.