Believe it or not, the transition from computer wiz to MMA fighter isn’t that much of a stretch. Listen to Joe Lauzon elaborate on his former role, and he may as well be talking about the latter.

“When I was younger, I used to ruin my computers just to see how they worked,” he says. “That way I could learn how to put them back together again. There’s something satisfying about figuring things out or trying to come up with solutions. It’s why I also liked math when I was growing up. I’ve just always loved the challenge of a problem.”

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Taken from: http://www.wickedlocal.com/raynham/sports/x1885887291/Bridgewater-MMA-fighter-Joe-Lauzon-eyes-return-to-ring-in-09

UFC lightweight title contender and Bridgewater native Joe Lauzon does not rattle easily.

Just 11 days after an electrifying second-round armbar submission victory over Jeremy Stephens to headline SpikeTv’s Fight Night 17 on Feb. 7, Lauzon’s (18-4, 5 KOs, 13 subs) possible title hopes were put on hold when he suffered a torn ACL that forced him to undergo surgery. (continue reading…)

Gamespot has announced the full roster for the upcoming UFC Undisputed video game. I did pictures and 3D modeling for it, but so didn’t 200 other fighters. Luckily, I made the cut and got into the game. The lightweight roster includes…

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Age: 24
Born: May 22, 1984 in Brockton, Massachusetts
Hometown:  East Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Pro Record:  18-4 (5 (T)KOs, 13 Submissions) 
Former WFL Grand Prix & Mass Destruction Lightweight Champion
Star of The Ultimate Fighter 5

In a relatively short period, 24-year-old Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon has gone from computer geek to starring on The Ultimate Fighter 5 television reality show, upsetting a former world mixed-martial-arts champ, and then headlining UFC Fight Night 13.

Not too shabby for the nerd-looking but fearless fighting lightweight contender who has a Bachelor’s degree in computer networking from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. Two years ago, he was fighting part-time and working full-time at Charles River Analytics in Cambridge (MA), where he was responsible for maintaining a 130-computer network.

Born in Brockton, Massachusetts, known as the “City of Champions” because Hall of Fame boxers Rocky Marciano and Marvelous Marvin Hagler fought out of there, Lauzon fought on the relatively small New England circuit during the early part of his still young MMA career, earning 2004 Massachusetts Fighter of the Year honors.

In 2006, “J-Lau” won an 8-man tournament by defeating three fighters on one night in the World Fighting League, and he was crowned WFL Grand Prix champion. His impressive showing led to a UFC contract, although he believed that he’d lose his love of fighting if he became a fulltime fighter and it became a job. 

His UFC debut was against former world light weight champion Jens “Little Evil” Pulver (21-7-1), who was a solid 7-1 favorite, in UFC 63 (September 23, 2006). Lauzon immediately took Pulver to the mat, but they got up and Joe rocked Pulver with a right knee, leading to a devastating left hook that dropped Pulver. A barrage followed and the referee halted the fight at 43 seconds of the opening round, marking Pulver’s first UFC loss in eight fights.

“Going into the fight with Jens,” Lauzon reflected, “I had all the upper tier fighters on his plateau and I thought that I was far off. Getting a big win like that let me know that I could compete at that level.” 

Lauzon’s impressive performance led to him being cast on The Ultimate Fighter 5, where Joe met his new mentor and training partner, UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn, who was his coach on the television series. Joe won his first two fights in the series against a team coached, ironically, by Pulver, but Joe lost a decision to Manvel Gamburyan in the semifinals. In the finale, however, “J-Lau” beat Brandon Melendez by submission (triangle choke) at 2:09 of the second round.

“The Ultimate Fighter was great for me because it put me on television in front of everyone,” Joe noted. “On the local level, MMA shows are filled by fighters selling tickets to their friends. The UFC has expanded that model by letting the world get to know fighters. You could fight a dozen times and still not have the same connection with people as you do when they see how you live for a month and a half.

After The Ultimate Fighter 5, Lauzon finally left his job at Charles River Analytics to become a fulltime MMA fighter, and took Penn up on his offer to train him, moving to Hawaii where one of his training partners was WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber.

“Training with BJ was the best,” Lauzon remarked. “You always try to have a worst case scenario opponent in mind while training and BJ is just that” world-class Jiu-Jitsu, great striking with heavy ands and a solid chin, as well as crazy flexibility and takedown defense. All of that is hard to come by in one person, but BJ brings it all, the complete package. I am fortunate enough to have worked with BJ and I realize how much further I can improve. I am back training in Bridgewater at my school for this fight, but I’m sure I will be training with BJ again in the future.” 

In November of 2007, Joe defeated Jason Reinhardt by submission (rear naked choke) in the first round at UFC 78: Validation, setting up an All-Massachusetts showdown against Kenny Florian in the main event on UFC Fight Night 13 in Denver on April 2. The older, more experienced Florian registered a win by second-round TKO. “I learned from that fight that I need to pace myself better and not think that I have to go all out from bell to bell,” Joe commented. “It was real tough in Colorado with the elevation. I tried to prepare for it but I didn’t do enough. It was a costly lesson but one that I will never make again.” 

In his last fight (September 17, 2008), Joe demonstrated his improved boxing skills September 17 en route to stopping Kyle Bradley (13-6) at 1:34 of the second round on UFC Fight Night 15 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Lauzon, representing Lauzon MMA, has moved back to Massachusetts and is living again in the town he grew-up in, East Bridgewater. Given his youth and talent, along with Penn possibly moving up to the welterweight division, “J-Lau” hopes to soon be ranked in the UFC’s top 10 and eventually position himself for a UFC lightweight title shot.

Lauzon went on a 12-day goodwill trip (October, 2008) visiting U.S. military troops in Iraq and Kuwait. “It was awesome,” Lauzon said from home. “It was one of the happiest 12 days of my life. They kept us real busy going from one camp to another. We visited 14 camps in Iraq and Kuwait. The first hour we’d give demonstrations and the second we signed autographs and posed for pictures with them. I was thrilled to see all of them over there, away from their friends and family, but helping all of us back home. It was cool to see how excited and appreciative they were to see us. There are a lot of MMA fans over there, too. They watch UFC events on the Armed Forces Network, but, due to the time differences, it’s on there at 3 in the morning. They watch and then start their day at 6. It was a long, busy 12 days, but I’d definitely do it again. It’s something that I’ll never forget. I’m glad I did it.”

Back in the main event on Spike TV in his last action (February 7, 2009), Lauzon scored an impressive win against Jeremy Stephens (14-4, 10 KOs, 2 submissions), who was a late replacement for injured Hermes Franca (20-7). After suffering a 7-inch cut on his hairline from an elbow, Lauzon used a “fireman’s carry” to take power striker Stephens to the mat, where Joe mounted Jeremy and locked in a submission by arm-bar at 4:43 into the second round. Lauzon earned “Submission of the Night” honors.

“The flying heel hook is a move MMA people don’t see a lot,” Lauzon described his somewhat unconventional leg-lock. “I did it 4-5 months ago and decided to do it again. This was a good fight for me to showcase what I like to do in a UFC main event on Spike. I knew he (Stephens) was dangerous on his feet but not on the ground. My corner was upset with me at one point for getting caught with a few punches, but it wasn’t as bad as it looked, and I wasn’t hurt at all. Some thought I rushed for a submission after I got cut, but I stayed calm and I heard somebody in my corner yelling 45-seconds. I knew I had time for a submission, if I picked up the pace, and I did. He’s a tough, stocky kid.”

The UFC lightweight division, from top to bottom, is loaded. Lauzon finds himself on the verge of cracking into a spot among the UFC’s elite 155-pounders, chasing champion (and his former coach) B. J. Penn, former title-holder Sean Sherk and a rematch with Kenny Florian among the more notables. “I think the lightweight division, by far, is the toughest and deepest, talent-wise,” Lauzon commented. “A lot of those top guys are a solid 170-180 pounds, walking around, and lose weight to fight at 155. Someday I’d like a rematch with Kenny Florian, of course, and I want to fight Hermes, especially after all the trash he talked after pulling out of our fight. But he’s going to be out of action for a while with a torn ACL (knee injury). Next, I’d like somebody like Clay Guida (26-6), who just won a big fight against Nate Diaz (decision).”

Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon is promoted by the UFC, managed by Dean Albrecht, and trained by Joe Pomfret.

Throughout his mixed martial arts career, Joe Lauzon has learned the most from the fights he has lost. Consider his April 2 fight with Kenny Florian at UFC�s Fight Night 13 his latest learning opportunity.

For my fight with Kenny Florian, I had the chance to work with some new equipment that I didn’t have access to in the past. Here is a video of me training in High Gear… its about 4 minutes long and shows how much more ground and pound stuff you can work. This was when I was about a month out from my fight.

I honestly think high gear has helped my ground and pound dramatically. Only in a fight could I really let go and throws punches and elbows the way I wanted too. Most elbow pads are terrible and slip off and its only a matter of time before someone gets cut. But using High Gear let use many more of my weapons and with more force. The stuff gets tow huge thumbs up from me and I will be using High Gear in training for every fight from here on out.

You can find more information on High Gear here

Kenny beat me, fair and square. He is the better fighter and proved it on Wednesday night. I knew I was an underdog coming in, and despite having a few good moments Kenny showed why he was the favorite.

Since this fight was announced I kept talking about Kenny’s great ground game it was ultimately my downfall. After a back and forth first round, Kenny got mount in the second and I couldn’t get him off me. I didn’t take a lot of damage while on the bottom but Kenny wasn’t going anywhere either. I got him off once, but used up a lot of energy in trying to get him off again and again.

I loved going to Colorado, but hope to never have to fight in altitude like that again. I went two and a half weeks early to get used to it and thought I was, but a fight is always worse on your body and I felt drained by the end of the first round. Coming out for the second round my legs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds and it was showed.

A lot of people have been talking to me about the elbows. While some of the elbows did land to the back of the head, and I have the stitches to prove it, it didn’t affect the outcome of the fight. It certainly didn’t help having the doctor try and take care of my cut and making me bend over forward and not being able to breath but thats how it goes sometimes. The blood didn’t bother me and it wasn’t the first time I had seen my own blood. Herb Dean stood us up, but then he told us to start fighting from standing position. I am still not sure why we were started standing when I had worked for a takedown and better position, but thats not on Kenny that should be on Herb Dean.

Thanks for all of the support to everyone. I have around 2000 emails and messages to go through and about 100 missed calls on my phone. I will get back to everyone but its gonna take some time. For right now, I am gonna lay low and relax in Florida with my girlfriend.

Thanks again,
Joe

From the Article: A word of warning to office workers everywhere: The next time you feel the urge to curse the geeky-looking IT guy you think caused your laptop to crash, breathe deeply and avoid the smart-alecky comment.

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Well, last week I talked about how I was flying home to be there for my guys at Untamed. It ended up being a great move and I think it was a nice surprise. With the exception of Gorilla Bob, I don’t think anyone had any idea I was coming home. We even had to guilt-trip my brother into showing up the day before the fight so I could see him as soon as I got home. He had no idea.

We ended up going 4-4 for the night. When you have eight guys fighting, half the guys winning isn’t so bad. I think next time out we will do better, but all of our guys had great fights and, win or lose, should be proud of how they did. As I told my guys, you can’t win them all.

In order to put it all into perspective, I found my very first amateur MMA fight from about six years ago and put it on my YouTube channel. I won’t give away the end, so you can watch it, but it shows that no matter how bad you start out there is always an opportunity to do well down the line.

Dan and I flew to Denver on Sunday night and the flight was luckily pretty uneventful. There was a little bit of turbulence and the flight got in a little late because of snow, but overall it wasn’t too bad. I think Dan watched Juno twice on the flight and was ready to kill himself by the time we landed. JetBlue is usually the way to fly, but the TV stations weren’t working� pretty weak.

Noah picked us up at the airport and we drove to his house in Fort Collins. Along the way all he was talking about was how everything was open until 3 a.m., including all the sub shops and everything else. Apparently Noah didn’t realize it was Sunday, and we deemed him to be a complete liar. Sadly, no subs for us at 1 a.m.. Noah’s house is pretty nice and he has three dogs… Gia, Lilly and Princess. And yes, don�t worry, I gave him a hard time about the names of his dogs.

We went to bed and went training the next morning at Infinite Mixed Martial Arts in Loveland. This is the gym Noah trains at and we met a bunch of the guys that train there and Noah’s trainer, Adam. They have been great to work with and more then accommodating.

We have been getting some great training in while out here and its definitely nice having Dan here to work with. The elevation is definitely different, which is what we expected. It’s not a big difference and shouldn’t be a problem, but I’m glad we got out here early.

Since I came here on Sunday night, I have done around 20 interviews and radio shows. Media for this fight has been ridiculous!

I will check back in next week, thanks for reading.

Send me some feedback on this article on my MySpace at http://myspace.com/lauzonrsd