Most people go to Hawaii for the beautiful beaches, lush green mountains, or to surf the monster waves. Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon went to get beat up (everyday) by arguably the best pound for pound MMA fighter there is, B.J Penn. That doesn’t sound like a Hawaiian vacation to me, but then I’m not training for the biggest fight of my career. For Lauzon, a kid from East Bridgewater, Massachusetts it was a no-brainer. Endure another miserable New England winter, or go to the Big Island and train with the best. Lauzon says “ B.J’s your worst nightmare when it comes to being your trainer, he hits really, really hard, good standup, incredibly tough to take down, good wrestling, and world class on the ground”. Penn wasn’t the only champ training with Joe in Hilo, Urijah Faber (the WEC Featherweight champ) spent some time there as well, “who better could you ask to train with than the best 145 pounder and the best 155 pounder” said Joe. Mix in guy’s like Shane Nelson, Mike Aina, Ross Ibanez and Rudy Valentino and he should be ready for anyone.
“J-Lau’s” next opponent is also a native Bostonian, Kenny “Ken-Flo” Florian who’s a Black Belt in BJJ and a Muay Thai fighter under Mark Dellegrotte. I asked Joe how he’s planning on dealing with Florian? “Put him on his ass, but I’m not afraid to stand with him either”. Lauzon has showed he can stand in there with a good striker (just ask Jens Pulver), but grappling and submission’s are where he’s most dangerous. Does he feel any added pressure fighting in the Main Event? “ To a certain extent, as far as the media, but I don’t care whether I’m fighting in the first fight or the last fight, I just care about winning”. A win over Florian who has fought for the title (a decision loss to Sean Sherk) would certainly move him closer to a title shot, but Lauzon isn’t concerned with that yet. “ I don’t want to look that far ahead, right now I’m 100% focused on Kenny”.
With the Lightweight Division being so stacked one loss could send him back down the ladder, but Joe doesn’t see it that way. “ There’s so many good guy’s that half of them have to lose, losing a fights not a big deal. If you start dropping a couple in a row then it starts to be a problem”. Going 3-0 in the Octagon (stopping all his opponents) Joe hasn’t had to worry about that. For now he’s only concerned about his next opponent. It’s Lauzon’s focus, determination and sheer will that has gotten him this far. This winning combination will surely enable him to ride the MMA wave all the way to the top.
