Veteran Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight Joe Lauzon doesn’t exactly have one foot out the door. Despite having 38 fights in his professional career, “J-Lau” doesn’t appear to be slowing down. He will step inside the Octagon next Sunday night (Jan. 15) to take on former Bellator contender Marcin Held.
Lauzon was a recent guest on MMAJunkie Radio. He said he is prepared to avoid Held’s bread and butter, the leg locks:
“The smart plan is to stay away from the leglock stuff. Don’t play with fire more than you need to. Defend the leg locks and get away. But if we find ourselves in a perfect situation, I think it would pretty awesome to submit this guy.”
With so many fights under his belt, one can only imagine the amount of wear and tear Lauzon’s body has endured. The 155-pounder admitted there are times he feels spent.
“It depends on the day. Most days, I feel awesome. Every once in a while, especially during fight camp, I’ll wake up and be like, ‘Oh my god, what is going on?’ I feel like I’ve been in a car accident or something. Nothing major, but just sore stuff. Sore hands, sore knees, (and a) sore neck. But most days I feel great.”
Lauzon has gone 2-3 in his last five bouts, but he has shown he still has mileage. “J-Lau” isn’t prepared to call it a career until he loses interest in training.
“I think it’s going to come down to, when am I not interested in going to the gym anymore – not interested in training anymore. But right now, I love getting into the gym.”
Lauzon vs. Held will be the co-main event of the UFC Fight Night event in Phoenix, Arizona. The main card will begin at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.
