First of all… you better be following me on Twitter because this is going to be a first come first serve speed thing.

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. (continue reading…)

Well… it’s over. Training camp for UFC 108 has officially ended. I did my last day of boxing with Steve Maze this morning and it’s all smooth sailing from here. Tonight I will pop into the gym to see everyone and we fly out tomorrow afternoon.

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I am going to be giving away tickets to the my fight at UFC108. I have around 50 people coming out to Vegas with me for the fight, and I bought a few extra tickets for those people that decided to come last minute. I knew I would have some tickets left though and I am planning to give them away on Twitter. Which is good for you, provided you follow my twitter.

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One of the best fighters from my gym, Matt “The Rabid Squirrel” Perry, is fighting August 1st in Brockton at Campanelli Stadium. (continue reading…)

I am doing an autograph signing at the Hot Dog Safari at Suffolk Downs this weekend from 12 until 2. The Hot Dog Safari is a cystic fibrosis benefit. It costs $15 ($10 if you buy in advance) and its all you can eat hot dogs. I don’t know about other UFC fighters being there, but I know there will be other athletes and celebrities doing signings as well.   (continue reading…)

A bunch of the guys from my gym went to Dave and Busters last night. For those that don’t know, D&B is a bar/restaurant/arcade. We went and grabbed some dinner and then hit up games for a few hours. Early in the night April did the Spin-N-Win and won a thousand tickets. She was all pumped and we were too… because it was like her 5th play and she had so many tickets they had to reload the machine. (continue reading…)

Here is a quick video blog of the WWE Backlash event we went to last week. (continue reading…)

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.

If you live near Omaha and do not have tickets for tomorrow nights Ultimate Fight Night… send me a myspace message and tell me why you deserve tickets.

I have 2 or 4 extra tickets. I think we are going to give away 2 tonight to someone we bump into, and then will have two more for myspace. If we dont end up giving away any tonight, I will end up giving away all 4 on mySpace. They are not expensive tickets but you will be sitting with my friends and I will definitely be stopping over after my fight.

Spread the word… has to be someone that is on my friends list… if you arent already a friend, you better be sending a friend request first!

http://myspace.com/lauzonrsd

I want to start out by thanking everyone that helped me for this fight. Most people will say don’t fix what’s not broken but I went out and changed up my training for this fight as much as one could do so. I moved away from all of my friends, family and training partners and took a chance that I would click with an entirely new group of partners and coaches. Luckily I had the chance to test the waters on the Ultimate Fighter training with BJ, Rudy, Tony and Regan. I wasn’t going into the situation blind but you never know how things will work out.

Fortunately, things worked out quite well for me. I took Jason out in the first round with a rear naked choke after controlling the fight from start to finish. Jason was a game opponent with an 18-0 record having finished everyone he had faced.

I want to start by thanking everyone back home for all of their help. Joe Pomfret has been there since day one and I wouldn’t be anywhere without him. Its funny because my life was set on a different path since he walked into my high school when I was 17. I can never thank him enough for not only the time he has put into me, but for instilling all the right ideas about training and life. Steve Maze is next on the list for being the guy back home that was there for the last year and half that was always meeting me at the gym regardless of how tired he was or how early it was on a Saturday morning. I know that if I ever need anything I can count on these guys. There have been a lot of others back home that have helped me too. of course all of the guys at Team Aggression in Bridgewater…. guys like Chris, Greg, Brandon, Cushman, Perry, both Conrads, Eddie Bishop and everyone else that I am forgetting.

I brought an absolute army with me to this show because the drive was only a couple hours. Brian Conrad and Chris Palmquist were both a huge help in organizing tickets, buses, hotels and t-shirts for around 150 people. The Team Aggression/Lauzon army was in full effect and I want to thank everyone for coming. Want to thank Adam too for taking care of all the sponsor stuff and organizing the after party. I want to thank Joe Cushman (“the CUSH!”) for dealing with my last minute crap and putting in a 15 hour day to get the shirts done and the sponsor shorts printed.

Heading island side, I want to start off thanking BJ, Rudy, Regan and the rest of the Penn family. The opportunity they have given me is deeply appreciated and I can’t thank them enough. I cannot think of a better place to train or better guys to work out with. I honestly believe BJ is the best fighter in the world and there is no one I would rather take beatings and learn from on a day to day basis. Special thanks to Junior, Tony, Shane, Poai, Ross, Larry, Justin, Butch, Brian, Frank and everyone else that helped me train for this fight. Everyone I met in Hawaii made me feel like family and while it was a big change it went pretty smoothly.

Of course I need to thank my family. I have said for a long time that my dad is my hero and that still holds true. Right before I left for Hawaii he told me he wanted to start training and fight for his 50th birthday in March. Like a lot of people he has gotten into his fair number of fights as a kid but has never really trained. He started taking training right before I left and lost a lot of weight (210 pounds to 170 at 5′11″). A few things have slowed him down since then, but I am sure we will work something out. My mom is next on the list because no matter she is always there to help. I was stressing over petty stuff the day of the fight and she took care of everything and make everything 100 times better without even thinking about it. She’s been there for almost every one of my fights and only at huge shows like the UFC am I unable to pick her voice out of the crowd of people screaming. I gotta thank my brother Dan because he is one of the few guys that I can always count on to push me. No one wants to lose to their brother and it works both ways with us. Dan is there to push me no matter how tired either of us are and no matter how many times we get into all out brawls I know when I need him he will be there. I want to thank my other brother Steve too. Yes, there IS another Lauzon brother that most don’t hear about. Steve doesn’t train or fight so most think its just Dan and I. Steve does his own thing but is always there if I need something. Kid will help you out with anything you need with the same undying conviction that he refuses to compromise or let things slide. He will always keep you honest and tell you what you need to hear.

I have a sister too… and she sucks. No need to thank the sucker for anything. And I guess I should mention my Aunt Marie so she stops asking me to thank her in something. I do thank her for coming this weekend to my fight when I know it wasn’t easy for her to do so.

Thanks to all of my sponsors. Sprawl (http://sprawl.tv) has always been with me since day one and I can’t thank them enough. We ran into some potential last minute issues and Sprawl was there to bail us out. Bullshido (http://bullshido.com) and Deathwish Records (http://deathwishinc.com) were with us again for this fight. Slaying Angels (http://slayingangels.com) is a clothing line my buddy and I started up for fun because we had some designs we liked, so we threw our own logo on my shirt. Peak Pysique (http://BFit2Fight.org), Stars Guards (http://starsguards.com) and Alpha Electronics (http://www.alphaelectronics.com/)were new this time out but we were thankful to have them.