Lauzon rocks Stephens in UFC ‘Ultimate Fight Night’ main event

Ever since he burst onto the MMA scene with a shocking first round KO upset of Jens Pulver at UFC 63, Joe Lauzon has been working to earn respect.  He’s lost only once since then—to top contender Kenny Florian in a bout that earned ‘fight of the night’ honors—but for some reason he’s had trouble being taken seriously as a top contender in the UFC’s lightweight division. 

He may not fit the classical profile of a fighter, looking more like a fresh faced kid and is often referred to as a “geek” due to his educational background in computer science.  When the fight starts, however, he’s all business.  In the main event at Saturday’s UFC “Ultimate Fight Night” in Tampa, Florida Lauzon withstood a game challenge from late replacement Jeremy Stephens to earn a 2nd round submission victory.

Lauzon was in control of the fight throughout, but Stephens gave a good account of himself despite his opponent’s obvious technical superiority on the ground.  Stephens wasn’t able to match up with Lauzon’s ever improving BJJ skills, but he used good old fashioned tenacity and some powerful punching to keep the fight competitive throughout.  Lauzon appeared to be on the verge of ending the fight midway through the second with a ‘ground and pound’ assault that he attempted to transition into a rear naked choke.  Stephens fought back with a vengeance despite his disadvantageous position and opened a nasty cut on Lauzon’s forehead with an elbow strike.

As puddles of crimson gathered anytime Lauzon’s head neared the mat, he gained a new sense of urgency not wanting to lose on a stoppage due to the cut.  He regained control on the ground and from full mount twisted into a nasty arm bar.  Stephens tried to extricate himself, but was eventually forced to tap giving the bloody Lauzon a hard fought triumph.

The live crowd in Tampa gave a very poor account of themselves, at times booing fighters mercilessly for no apparent reason whatsoever.  This was in addition to the usual “booing when the fight goes to the ground” typical of uneducated MMA fans—they often turned on fighters midbout for no discernable reason.  Their behavior reached a nadir in heavyweight Cain Velasquez’s post fight interview, where he was booed mercilessly despite an impressive victory and informing Joe Rogan that he was about to become a father for the first time.