Phillipe Nover vs Rob Emerson – I got to train with Rob Emerson a good amount on the Ultimate Fighter because we were on the same team. Rob is a BAD man but has troubles pulling the trigger sometimes. I think he will be WAY too strong for Nover though and will have no problem trading all night long. I am going with Emerson by TKO.

Matt Serra vs Frank Trigg – Two more guys that I love to watch fight. Trigg usually stays a little more composed while Serra is a ball of energy and swings for the fences. I am going with Serra by TKO.

Demian Maia vs Dan Miller – I love to watch both Demian and Dan Miller fight because they are both slick grapplers and always pulling off some slick submission. However, I think Demian is better at Dan’s biggest strength, which is grappling. Expect a stellar ground fight or a slow tap and go kickboxing match. I see Demian pulling out the decision.

Mike Swick vs Paula Thiago – This is going to be a great fight. Paula Thiago beat Koscheck, then lost to Fitch… so it’s time for Swick to put AKA up one. I am going with Swick by swickatine!

Nate Marquardt vs Chael Sonnen – I am sure some of you saw the video on MixedMartialArts.com of GSP training wrestling with Nate. I think the only advantage Chael has is his wrestling, and I don’t think he will have an easy time getting Nate down. And even if he does take him down, Chael is not the best finisher. Nate is a monster though and I think he will win by TKO.

Randy Couture vs Mark Coleman – This is definitely a wrestler vs wrestler fight, but I think Couture has the dominant skills in every other facet of the game. I think what will win him the fight more than anything else though, is taking care of his body much better throughout his life. We never see Randy out of shape so I am going with Couture by Decision.

What are YOUR picks?

Modern Warfare 2
XBox stuff in general
Jiu-Jitsu and Grappling
Training Ideas
Cutting weight for competitions
Computer Stuff
Mac vs PC
Movies… previews, reviews, etc…

What else do you want to read about? And what do you think of all these categories? Feedback is important to me and I read everything you guys post… so take the 2 seconds it takes to register and comment on things to let me know!

I get a lot of messages on Facebook and through email about why I don’t add people to my personal Facebook page. Typically when I get a friend request from someone that isn’t an actual friend, I send them a copy-and-pasted message asking them to join my fan page. Most people appreciate the fact I take the time to message them. Some give me the “uh, no thanks” or just don’t do it. It’s not me being uppity, its a numbers limitation.

I used to accept everyone and I hit the max of 5,000 friends pretty quick. Then I had like 2,000 people waiting to be friends and sending me messages on why I hadn’t accept them yet. Got to the point where to add people I actually knew, I had to delete random people from my page… which in turn got people upset.

So… I started the fan page which has no limit. Removed every single friend from my personal account and started new. Now when I get friend requests, I spend a GOOD amount of time copying and pasting that message to everyone and denying requests. Right now I have about 100 people that sent me requests, and I just went through last weekend.

Everything that gets posted on my normal page goes to my fan page anyways…. and I still respond to people on there. Trust me, I would MUCH rather just hit “Accept All” on friend requests.

Lauzon, a native of E. Bridgewater (MA), would certainly be a hometown favorite fighting at the Boston Garden. “We’ll see how it goes but I certainly want to fight at home in Boston,” Lauzon said. “I’d like to fight before that, where my fight against Stout was my first in 10 months, but not if it risks fighting in Boston this August.”

Sidelined for 10 months after undergoing knee surgery to repair his ACL, Lauzon re-entered the Octagon against Stout in Las Vegas, participating in the UFC 108 Pay-per-view “Fight of the Night.”

“I’m obviously disappointed in the result,” the star of The Ultimate Fighter 5 television reality show said. “It was an entertaining fight, but that’s not what I want to be known for. I focused on the health of my knee and it held up. I didn’t concentrate on my overall condition and I was a little rusty. I trained like a maniac six days of the week, twice a day, and then I couldn’t do too much for six months (due to his knee surgery).

“I definitely thought I had Stout in the first round but he had other plans. I felt his shoulder pop and I really thought that I had him. I guess it wasn’t meant to be. I expected him to be tough. His takedown defense was better than I thought. I thought I’d have an easier time on the ground, too. He came to fight with a perfect game plan. Give him credit for a good fight. I’d like to fight him in a rematch but, then again, I’d like to fight anybody I’ve lost to but that doesn’t happen very often and is out of my control.”

The 25-year-old from Massachusetts, who has a computer networking degree from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, came out of his fight against Stout a little sore and sporting a black eye. He’s already back training at his gym, Lauzon MMA in Bridgewater.

“I really want to fight on the first UFC show in Boston,” Lauzon concluded. “It’s a natural decision and would be a dream come true for me.”

For more information about Joe send him a message at Twitter.com/JoeLauzon.

-JL-

PRESS CONTACT:
Bob Trieger
Full Court Press
978.664.4482
bobtfcp@hotmail.com

I am doing fine this morning. I have a pretty nasty canvas burn on my right knee from shooting in… but I feel okay otherwise. My left eye is a little swollen and my left leg feels like I was kicked about 50 times. Overall… I am doing alright.

Great job Sam.

(the Fight of the night bonus check is making my leg feel a LOT better, hah.)

Congrats to Cole Miller too. You fought a great fight and pulled out a slick submission (Cole got Submission of the night). Congrats man.

At least I ended the night on a good note with some In-N-Out…

So here is the deal… I have 10 tickets to give away. I know I had said before that I was going to give away pairs… but I have 10 singles… which I will give away in 5 pairs. The tickets won’t be together, but they will be close to each other… and they are good tickets.

I am going to post a location around MGM and then a picture of one of the guys from my camp that will be waiting there with 1 pair of tickets. First person that gets to them and says a specific phrase gets the tickets. I will include the picture of the person and the phrase on my twitter… so you better be following. It’s first come first serve…. sorry if you get there second.

Going to give away all the tickets between now and when weigh-ins start.

LAS VEGAS (Dec. 31, 2009) – Exciting UFC lightweight contender Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon (18-4, 5 [T]KOs, 13 submissions), only 10 months after undergoing knee surgery to repair his ACL, enters the Octagon once again Saturday night to fight Canadian veteran Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout (14-5-1, 8 [T]KOs, 1 submission) on the UFC 108 pay-per-view show, live from MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Lauzon (5-1 in UFC), star of The Ultimate Fighter 5 television reality show, is a 25-year-old from Massachusetts, who has a computer networking degree from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. He is pumped to be fighting again, especially in Las Vegas, where he’s fought once but at a much smaller venue than the famed MGM Grand.

“I fought in Las Vegas in the TUF finale at The Palms,” Lauzon explained. “Vegas is good; I’ve been there a bunch of times. It’s awesome how the casinos are all along the strip, crowded with people at all hours. The Palms was smaller than MGM Grand. The only comparable place I’ve ever fought, size-wise, was the Honda Center in Anaheim.

“I’m just so excited to be fighting again, especially on such a big PPV show. It caps off the UFC year and always is a real good show. And it’s great to be fighting on the same card as my brother, Danny (first time in UFC history that brothers have fought on the same card). My knee feels awesome and it has come around like I hoped it would.”

Styles make fights and Lauzon-Stout is a classic match-up of contrasting disciplined fighters. Both are well-rounded MMA fighters, but Lauzon’s a noted Brazilian Jui-Jitsu specialist, while Stout prefers to strike and kick.

“I’m ready,” Lauzon said. “Fans are going to watch two aggressive guys coming forward. It’s going to be fast paced and I think somebody’s going to get hurt in the first round.”

For more information about Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon go online and visit www.joelauzon.com.

-JL-

CONTACT:
Bob Trieger, Full Court Press, 978.664.4482, bobtfcp@hotmail.com