Tag: Jamie Varner

[Exclusive] Joe Lauzon Says he Asked For Maynard Fight

By Elias Cepeda

Being proactive paid off for Joe Lauzon last week. The UFC lightweight contender signed on to fight Gray Maynard and says he was the one pushing for the tough match up.

“I saw Gray say in an interview that he wanted to coach the next season of TUF against Nate Diaz,” Joe explains.

“He’s banking on Diaz beating [Ben] Henderson [when the two face off for Henderson’s title] and wants that title shot and, I guess, a third fight between him and Nate. So I contacted [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva and said that I thought Gray and I could be a cool angle as coaches of TUF. They didn’t do that but later I got a call asking if I wanted to fight Gray on December 29th. Its on the main card of a huge card.”

Lauzon is coming off of a record-setting submission of the night and fight of the night performance in beating Jamie Varner earlier this month. Maynard is coming off of a controversially-close split decision win over Clay Guida. Before that, Maynard fought then-champion Frankie Edgar twice in a row, first drawing with him and then losing via TKO.

Lauzon doesn’t know if a win over Maynard would put him in the #1 contender’s spot for the lightweight title for certain, but he says it would be a “step in the right direction.” “Gray is a monster. He’s only lost to Frankie. He’s super tough. Me beating Gray would make a big statement because he’s smashed everyone except for the champ at the time. Even in those fights he had the champ hurt badly at times,” Lauzon says.

By Elias Cepeda

Being proactive paid off for Joe Lauzon last week. The UFC lightweight contender signed on to fight Gray Maynard and says he was the one pushing for the tough match up.

“I saw Gray say in an interview that he wanted to coach the next season of TUF against Nate Diaz,” Joe explains.

“He’s banking on Diaz beating [Ben] Henderson [when the two face off for Henderson’s title] and wants that title shot and, I guess, a third fight between him and Nate. So I contacted [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva and said that I thought Gray and I could be a cool angle as coaches of TUF. They didn’t do that but later I got a call asking if I wanted to fight Gray on December 29th. Its on the main card of a huge card.”

Lauzon is coming off of a record-setting submission of the night and fight of the night performance in beating Jamie Varner earlier this month. Maynard is coming off of a controversially-close split decision win over Clay Guida. Before that, Maynard fought then-champion Frankie Edgar twice in a row, first drawing with him and then losing via TKO.

Lauzon doesn’t know if a win over Maynard would put him in the #1 contender’s spot for the lightweight title for certain, but he says it would be a “step in the right direction.” “Gray is a monster. He’s only lost to Frankie. He’s super tough. Me beating Gray would make a big statement because he’s smashed everyone except for the champ at the time. Even in those fights he had the champ hurt badly at times,” Lauzon says.

The last time Lauzon was in a fight that appeared to have immediate title shot implications was back in 2008 when he fought, and lost to, Kenny Florian. Lauzon says that he’s a different fighter than the kid that lost to the future hall of famer Florian over four years ago.

“I’ve grown so much since then,” he says.

“I’m a hundred times stronger now than I was then. At that time I hadn’t touched weights at all. The last couple of years I’ve been much more serious about strength and conditioning. My boxing has gotten much better…I was really just a grappler then. Now I’m much more comfortable on my feet. My defense is better. I’m quicker. And I love Jiu Jitsu and so am constantly improving that.”

Perhaps most important, according to Lauzon, is his improved mental state. Though he’s been fighting since he was a teenager, Joe says that he’s only now really begun to enjoy himself during fights.

“My last fight was the first fight where I really had fun,” he says. “I was enjoying every second of that fight. That was a big change for me, mentally.”

Lauzon says that he’s given a sore elbow time to heal over the past three to four weeks and but that soon he will begin training for the Maynard fight, which is still a while off. The outspoken fighter won’t offer an opinion on whether or not he feels Maynard deserved the decision win in his last fight against Guida – saying he hasn’t watched it closely enough – but simply says that if fighters let fights go to the judges, they never really have anyone to blame if things don’t go their way.

Because of his nearly flawless record and championship-level experience, many observers will no doubt have Maynard picked as a solid favorite over Lauzon. The Massachussets native readily admits he faces a big challenge against Maynard.

“Back in the [TUF 5] house we used to even joke with Gray because he was the number one pick, had the pedigree and all that. We’d say that Gray Maynard pisses excellence,” Lauzon says with a laugh.

“I also know that I probably can’t get hit as often by Gray as I did by Varner. Jamie is probably a better boxer than Gray but Gray probably has more power.”

That said, Lauzon is confident that he will have the skills to best Maynard on the feet or on the ground. “I’m very lucky that I’m comfortable no matter where I go in this fight,” Lauzon says.

“I really don’t think Gray wants to take me down and sit in my guard. I think I’m a little bit too crafty off of my back, too quick with submissions and sweeps. Like most of his other fights, he will probably want to stand and box. It is probably going to be a kickboxing match and, though I’ve got to be careful, I can do well there. I’ve gotta bring it to him.”

Barnburner Alert: Joe Lauzon vs. Gray Maynard Booked for UFC 155


(Jesus Christ, Joe, are you playing for the other team?! You don’t snipe in Carentan, saboteur!)  

Of all the seasons of The Ultimate Fighter to have produced upper-echelon fighters and title challengers at 155 lbs., who would’ve guessed that the season that coined the phrase “Wang and Bang” would one day rule them all? Not only is Nate Diaz next in line for a shot at Ben Henderson, but former title challenger Gray Maynard has just been booked to take on perennial contender Joe Lauzon in a battle that will easily launch the victor onto the short list of contenders at lightweight.

Then again, Sir Isaac Newton did state that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, which might explain why Gabe Ruediger is getting his ass kicked by skateboarders these days.

After spending the entirety of 2011 feuding with former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, which ended in his first career defeat, Maynard recently bounced back into the win column with a controversial split decision win over Clay Guida in the main event of UFC on FX 4. Although Maynard was thoroughly out-hustled for the majority of the fight, the significance of his offense in the latter rounds combined with Guida’s lack thereof was enough to earn him the nod.

Maynard will be facing the always entertaining Lauzon, who is currently 3-2 in his past five and most recently scored a third round triangle submission victory against former WEC champion Jamie Varner in their classic scrap at UFC on FOX 4. Lauzon has struggled in the past when facing top contenders, having dropped fights to Kenny Florian and Anthony Pettis in the past, but has also finished his opponents in all 22 of his victories. And although his cardio looked the best against Varner that it arguably ever has, there is no doubt that Maynard’s experience in the championship rounds will pay huge dividends if Lauzon isn’t able to put him away earlier.

After the jump: An update on Matt Hamill’s return to the octagon. Spoiler: His opponent just got a lot tougher.


(Jesus Christ, Joe, are you playing for the other team?! You don’t snipe in Carentan, saboteur!)  

Of all the seasons of The Ultimate Fighter to have produced upper-echelon fighters and title challengers at 155 lbs., who would’ve guessed that the season that coined the phrase “Wang and Bang” would one day rule them all? Not only is Nate Diaz next in line for a shot at Ben Henderson, but former title challenger Gray Maynard has just been booked to take on perennial contender Joe Lauzon in a battle that will easily launch the victor onto the short list of contenders at lightweight.

Then again, Sir Isaac Newton did state that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, which might explain why Gabe Ruediger is getting his ass kicked by skateboarders these days.

After spending the entirety of 2011 feuding with former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, which ended in his first career defeat, Maynard recently bounced back into the win column with a controversial split decision win over Clay Guida in the main event of UFC on FX 4. Although Maynard was thoroughly out-hustled for the majority of the fight, the significance of his offense in the latter rounds combined with Guida’s lack thereof was enough to earn him the nod.

Maynard will be facing the always entertaining Lauzon, who is currently 3-2 in his past five and most recently scored a third round triangle submission victory against former WEC champion Jamie Varner in their classic scrap at UFC on FOX 4. Lauzon has struggled in the past when facing top contenders, having dropped fights to Kenny Florian and Anthony Pettis in the past, but has also finished his opponents in all 22 of his victories. And although his cardio looked the best against Varner that it arguably ever has, there is no doubt that Maynard’s experience in the championship rounds will pay huge dividends if Lauzon isn’t able to put him away earlier.

Speaking of Varner, Matt Hamill recently pulled a similar maneuver as the former WEC champ by un-retiring and agreeing to face Bellator veteran Roger Hollett at UFC 152. However, word broke earlier today that Hollett had suffered an undisclosed injury forcing him out of the contest, and stepping in for Hollett would be none other than former IFL champion Vladimir Matyushenko.

The two share a lot of similarities beyond their extensive wrestling background, the first of which being that neither Hamill or “The Janitor” have fought since running into the one way pain train that is Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 133 and 141, respectively. Hamill’s beatdown was so bad that it led him to retire in the first place, whereas Matyushenko simply suffered from a bad case of attempting to block Gustafsson’s punches with his face.

Luckily, I’ve managed to find some decent quality highlights from both men’s fights with Gustafsson below, and added them below. Enjoy, and let us know who you think takes this one.

Hamill vs. Gustafsson

Matyushenko vs. Gustafsson (highlights start at the 1:10 mark)

–J. Jones

[VIDEO] If UFC Fighters Were in The Olympics, They Would Compete In…

Props to the UG for the find and MMAInterviews for this video, which asks several of the fighters from UFC on FOX 4, along with several other MMA stars, what Olympic event they would most likely compete in if they weren’t mixed martial artists. The responses ranged from funny (Joe Lauzon’s desire to try and make people give a shit about speed walking) to optimistic (5′ 8” Jamie Varner’s chances as a high-jumper) to spot-on for their personality (Ryan Bader would “throw rocks” and lift weights, go figure).

And speaking of Olympics, are we the only ones who think water polo is receiving far too much coverage this year? We’re sorry, but whatever asshole took a look at soccer and thought “You know what we should do with this sport? Slow it way, way down, limit the players mobility, and blow a whistle every three seconds” should be shot in the face, then dragged to a nearby park to make it look like a suicide. And yes, we know that person is probably dead already. Just go with it.

Anyway, it is with this inspiring little interview that we ask you taters to fill the blanks in for the following sentence:

If ______ were an Olympian instead of an MMA fighter, he/she would ______.

–J. Jones

Props to the UG for the find and MMAInterviews for this video, which asks several of the fighters from UFC on FOX 4, along with several other MMA stars, what Olympic event they would most likely compete in if they weren’t mixed martial artists. The responses ranged from funny (Joe Lauzon’s desire to try and make people give a shit about speed walking) to optimistic (5′ 8” Jamie Varner’s chances as a high-jumper) to spot-on for their personality (Ryan Bader would “throw rocks” and lift weights, go figure).

And speaking of Olympics, are we the only ones who think water polo is receiving far too much coverage this year? We’re sorry, but whatever asshole took a look at soccer and thought “You know what we should do with this sport? Slow it way, way down, limit the players mobility, and blow a whistle every three seconds” should be shot in the face, then dragged to a nearby park to make it look like a suicide. And yes, we know that person is probably dead already. Just go with it.

Anyway, it is with this inspiring little interview that we ask you taters to fill the blanks in for the following sentence:

If ______ were an Olympian instead of an MMA fighter, he/she would ______.

–J. Jones

UFC on Fox 4 Aftermath

After an over hyped UFC 149 that did not deliver to fan’s expectations, the UFC got right back on track with a heavily action packed card on Fox. UFC on Fox 4: Shogun vs. Vera.

After an over hyped UFC 149 that did not deliver to fan’s expectations, the UFC got right back on track with a heavily action packed card on Fox. UFC on Fox 4: Shogun vs. Vera was one of the most exciting events of the year, an event that saw four knockouts and three submissions. The question now, where does this put Saturday’s competitors now that every fight has come to its conclusion?

After being absent for over two years, Mike Swick returned to the octagon to knockout DaMarques Johnson in the second round. Although Johnson was knocked out in devastating fashion, he most likely won the first round, and made it an extremely competitive fight. As for his next fight, Matt “The Immortal” Brown would be ideal for a competitive fight for Johnson. Having such an impressive knockout after being absent for so long, is proof that Swick is still a force to be reckoned with at welterweight and he should fight another dangerous opponent such as Yoshihiro Akiyama or Siyar Bahadurzada.

Fight of the night award winners, Joe Lauzon and Jamie Varner, not only put on the performance of the entire event, but are being considered for fight of the year. Going into the third round, it was still either man’s fight to take. Lauzon didn’t take any chances and refused to let the fight go to a decision when he slapped a triangle on Varner that forced him to tap. Just like DaMarques Johnson with his loss to Mike Swick, Jamie Varner won the first round and made the fight extremely competitive. Varner should draw a quality opponent in his next fight, perhaps Khabib Nurmagomedov or Rafael dos Anjos. Lauzon is ready for another big name, and should fight his original opponent, Terry Etim.

Lyoto Machida not only scored what was arguably the most impressive knockout of the night, but did so without so much as being touched by his opponent, Ryan Bader. There is no shame in getting knocked out by the dragon, and Bader is still among the elite in the light heavyweight division, but after Brandon Vera’s performance against Shogun, it would be interesting to see Bader vs. Vera. As for Machida, he should no doubt get the next shot at the light heavyweight title, whether it’s against Jon Jones or Dan Henderson.

Brandon Vera shocked everyone when he gave Shogun a run for his money in the main event. Though he was on the loosing end of the fight, he arguably gained more fans than any other fighter that night. Dana White said it best about Vera by saying “You can’t Rank a fighter’s heart. Heavily favored Shogun did pull off the victory, but with much more difficulty than anticipated. Nonetheless, a win is a win and now is the perfect time for the UFC to match Shogun against Rashad Evans, a fight that was supposed to happen a year and a half ago.

The list of possible match ups after this event is endless. Regardless of what future fights the UFC puts together, bottom line, UFC on Fox 4 was a great event and raised the bar to events to come.

Written by : Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli
@fightfreek

[VIDEOS] Behind the Scenes of UFC on FOX 4: Joe Lauzon’s Vlogs

I’m going to keep this brief, taters…If you watch the above video blog from “Mr. Fight Night Bonus” Joe Lauzon, you will be privy to some of the coolest behind-the-scenes access to a UFC event ever, and what’s more – there are three other great video blogs from earlier in the fight week to watch as well. The above video is Lauzon’s just-released fourth vlog from the UFC on FOX fight week and it takes fans with him from the weight cut to just after his fight of the night year with Jamie Varner.

The video is over 17 minutes long, but well-worth the watch. It has everything – from Lauzon and Varner chatting each other up casually about how they are going to beat one another up right before weighing in to the girl in the white dress we’ve all come to know and love (look for her hanging with Joe’s crew backstage post-fight at around the 15:50 minute mark, you creeps).

Lauzon’s UFC on FOX Fight Week Video Blogs 1-3 after the jump.

I’m going to keep this brief, taters…If you watch the above video blog from “Mr. Fight Night Bonus” Joe Lauzon, you will be privy to some of the coolest behind-the-scenes access to a UFC event ever, and what’s more – there are three other great video blogs from earlier in the fight week to watch as well. The above video is Lauzon’s just-released fourth vlog from the UFC on FOX fight week and it takes fans with him from the weight cut to just after his fight of the night year with Jamie Varner.

The video is over 17 minutes long, but well-worth the watch. It has everything – from Lauzon and Varner chatting each other up casually about how they are going to beat one another up right before weighing in to the girl in the white dress we’ve all come to know and love (look for her hanging with Joe’s crew backstage post-fight at around the 15:50 minute mark, you creeps).

Lauzon’s UFC on FOX Fight Week Video Blogs 1-3 after the jump.

Video Blog 3

Video Blog 2

Video Blog 1

– Elias Cepeda

UFC on FOX 4: Shogun vs. Vera — The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly


Props: MMA Photoshops

In our efforts to give out high fives and bro grabs over how much fun Saturday night’s fights were, we missed the opportunity to give constructive criticism to some of the evening’s lowest moments. We’ll more than likely still miss out on the constructive criticism here, but sometimes there’s just no way to be helpful about something’s ugliness (no matter how hard you try to be). But before we get caught up in the negativity…

The Good:

Vera and Varner Impressive in Defeat. Before Saturday night, both men were expected to be little more than highlight reel fodder for their opponents. After they came up just short in two of the most competitive, entertaining bouts to be broadcast on Fox, it’d be too easy to make comparisons to Rocky. So instead of making one, I’ll just imply it – problem solved. A loss is never easy for either fighter to swallow, but it could have been much uglier.

Mike Swick’s Feel-Good Comeback Fight. Is it even possible not to feel good for Mike Swick? After losing his last two fights and spending over two years away from the sport, things were looking pretty grim for “Quick.” Watching DaMarques Johnson control Swick for the first round certainly didn’t brighten the mood, either. But if you know somebody who wasn’t cheering while Swick flawlessly finished Johnson, that person has no pulse. In fact, that “person” is probably a zombie. Act accordingly.


Props: MMA Photoshops

In our efforts to give out high fives and bro grabs over how much fun Saturday night’s fights were, we missed the opportunity to give constructive criticism to some of the evening’s lowest moments. We’ll more than likely still miss out on the constructive criticism here, but sometimes there’s just no way to be helpful about something’s ugliness (no matter how hard you try to be). But before we get caught up in the negativity…

The Good:

Vera and Varner Impressive in Defeat. Before Saturday night, both men were expected to be little more than highlight reel fodder for their opponents. After they came up just short in two of the most competitive, entertaining bouts to be broadcast on Fox, it’d be too easy to make comparisons to Rocky. So instead of making one, I’ll just imply it – problem solved. A loss is never easy for either fighter to swallow, but it could have been much uglier.

Mike Swick’s Feel-Good Comeback Fight. Is it even possible not to feel good for Mike Swick? After losing his last two fights and spending over two years away from the sport, things were looking pretty grim for “Quick.” Watching DaMarques Johnson control Swick for the first round certainly didn’t brighten the mood, either. But if you know somebody who wasn’t cheering while Swick flawlessly finished Johnson, that person has no pulse. In fact, that “person” is probably a zombie. Act accordingly.

Not giving title shots to guys who duck fights. Do you remember why Shogun vs. Vera was booked in the first place? If you said no, it’s because Rua wouldn’t fight Glover Teixeira. Dana White certainly didn’t forget about this – in fact, he brought it up when he was asked why Machida was given a title shot over Shogun after the event. If fans are calling for Anderson Silva to vacate the title because his management doesn’t want him fighting Chris Weidman, then there’s absolutely no reason to give a guy a title shot who refused to fight an up-and-coming prospect, plain and simple.

All things considered, these ratings were pretty good. Like everything else on tv Saturday night, UFC on Fox 4 still got squashed by the Olympics. Unlike everything else, ratings improved throughout the course of the evening. The actual numbers don’t tell the entire story: There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the ratings for future cards on Fox.

The Doctor’s Stoppage of Wagner Prado vs. Phil Davis. There’s nothing more frustrating to me than watching a doctor simply ask a fighter if he wants to continue before clearing him to fight. You’re there because you can tell when it isn’t safe for a fighter to keep fighting, even though he wants to continue. Letting a fighter continue who isn’t physically capable of safely doing so is not only blindly ignoring your own expertise, but also a completely reckless way to get somebody killed.

It wasn’t the popular decision – and certainly not the preferable one – but it was the right one. After Davis’ eye poke, Prado told the doctor that he was seeing double, and the fight was immediately stopped. Naturally, Prado protested the stoppage; no professional fighter wants to look soft, even if he can’t see. But there’s no sense putting an asterisk next to a victory for Phil Davis (not to mention the danger this would put Prado in). Live to fight again, guys.

The Bad:

Phil “The Shockmaster” Davis. He may share the “Mr. Wonderful” alias with professional wrestling icon Paul Orndorff, but after his last two fights, he might as well borrow one of Fred Ottman’s failed gimmicks due to how badly he’s been falling on his face. It’s bad enough to go from the main event of UFC on Fox 2 to the Fuel TV prelims, but when you give the fans the absolute worst ending of the night, you’ll need to break out something extra special to stay relevant in the upcoming rematch. Remember when we were saying this guy should fight Jon Jones? Laissez les bons temps rouler.

Ryan “What’s Wrestling?” Bader. You’re a 2x D1 All-American wrestler. You’re fighting an elusive, karate-based former champion. What’s your strategy? Stand and Wang until you’re confusing the arena’s lights for Heaven, of course. At least he had the decency not to cry about it, so…props?

Joe Rogan’s interpretation of “Poor Cardio” during Varner vs. Lauzon. About thirty seconds into the Fight of the Night earning scrap between Jamie Varner and Joe Lauzon, Joe Rogan began saying that Varner was completely spent and done for. Call me “logical,” but considering that Varner kept fighting (emphasis on fighting – this wasn’t three rounds of lay and pray) into the third round, despite breaking his hand in the second, I’d say Varner’s conditioning looked pretty damn good. It’s one thing to say a guy looks tired, it’s another thing to repeatedly swear that he’s finished as he’s coming forward being the aggressor. Then again, that was nothing compared to…

The Ugly:

Phil Davis loves choking out fools with…kimuras? An announcer at an amateur event would get mocked relentlessly for making such a remarkably stupid mistake. Mike Goldberg has zero excuse…not even “I’m Mike Goldberg.”

Whoever this Nam Famn guy is that we kept hearing about. At first, I assumed that there was an innocent slip of the tongue, and wrote it off as a mispronunciation that I won’t pretend I’ve never made. But then I kept hearing about this Nam Fanm guy, and realized that he couldn’t be Nam Phan. For one, Nam Fanm used his boxing to defeat former WEC champion Mike Brown, and Nam Phan lost to Brown. Also, this Nam Famn guy was never in the fight against Cole Miller, and was clearly blown out for three rounds judging by the commentary throughout the fight. Yet, Nam Phan won that fight – fairly convincingly, too.

Come on, Mike and Joe. You’re much better than this. If you won’t give a fighter any credit at all while he’s in the cage, can you at least pronounce his name correctly?

@SethFalvo