UFC 144 Joe Lauzon vs Anthony Pettis Preview
by jim-ma on Feb 20, 2012 11:00 AM EST
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Anthony Pettis is well known for one of the most spectacular kicks in MMA history. In late 2010 he defeated Ben Henderson for the WEC Lightweight Title and while Henderson fights for the UFC strap this Saturday, Pettis is looking to squeeze his way into contention with a fight against Joe Lauzon. For his part, Lauzon recently submitted then challenger Melvin Guillard to gain momentum of his own.
Recent History
- Since losing to Clay Guida in his UFC debut, Pettis struggled past Jeremy Stephens by split decision.
- Lauzon has won three of his last four fights, all by submission.
- His most recent outing was an impressive upset win over Melvin Guillard.
| via bestofbjj |
Styles
It is fair to say that so far Anthony Pettis' showings in the UFC have been disappointing. In the WEC, Pettis was an incredibly entertaining, dynamic fighter with a propensity for finishes. He has submissions, kicks and energy to burn. Against Clay Guida, Pettis showed a slight lack of fight intelligence as struggled to attack from underneath the wrestler, going on to lose a decision. Against Jeremy Stephens, he failed to find his rhythm. On his day, Pettis has wonderfully diverse striking and a good range of submissions.
Joe Lauzon has matured into a very good fighter. He has decent stand up skills, but his real advantage lies in his ability to take advantage of his opponents' mistakes on the ground. If he can continue to minimize his own mistakes, he can certainly make a ase for a title shot in the near future.
Head to Head
A lot in this fight depends on which Pettis shows up. It would be foolish to believe that the Pettis we saw in the WEC is no longer there, or that the fighters he is fighting now are so much better than those he fought before. If he can regain some of the confidence and fluidity in his striking and game plan effectively, he should be able to pick Joe Lauzon apart. Lauzon will be looking to keep the distance at a minimum and shut down Pettis' kicks and movement in an effort to get the fight to the ground. There, he will look to work submissions. He will need to be careful though, as Pettis has plenty of ability on the mat himself.
Prediction
Pettis by decision. I do not think the Pettis of the WEC days will be entirely back, but he will approach this fight with a clear strategy for winning and Lauzon has less ways to win.
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Anthony Pettis never fought Joe Stevenson. In Pettis' last fight, he fought Jeremy "Lil Heathen" Stephens.
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+1
I knew it was him or me that was very confused.
This is an oule.
by some schmuck in texas on Feb 20, 2012 11:22 AM EST up reply actions
The thing with Lauzon is that he has shown that in many of his fights, he looks great in the first round, but starts to noticeably slow down in the following rounds. Even his last three submission wins were all in the first round. I think that Lauzon will come strong in the first round, but Pettis has good defense standing and on the ground. Lauzon has shown to be tough to finish, so I see Pettis getting the decision win.
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Pettis by tko in the second or third round
If Lauzon can’t finish you in the first, he usually gets tired and gets worked. I got Pettis surviving the storm and then using Lauzon as a heavy bag.
Joe Lauzon...
via utter blows his load all in the first and completely dominates 90% of the division with said tactic…
I hope Pettis does more of TKD kicks instead of trying crazy capoeira wizardry once in a while. This is hardly a complaint, since his capoeira kicks do look cool, lathough they land rarely, I just think he can kick like few in MMA so if he tries more of mainstream TKD stuff like tornado kicks, spinning hook kicks and spinning pushkicks he’d do more damage to his opponents.
Funny how it's "toning it down" for him to throw those kicks
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this is gonna be a hard fight
but Lauzon has won over much harder opponents with all my respect to Pettis who is a great fighter.. this is the fight hard to decide
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Pettis beat Ben Henderson
Lauzon’s biggest win is Melvin Guillard.
I’d give the nod to Pettis for the best win.
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Honestly
I think Roller would give Lauzon a run for his money.
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Ruining your special night roster: (mostly because I forget who's on my team)
Earl Montclair (Captain), Me, KJ_ZametovStPierre, AboveThisFire, RobertCowan, sunyue, Farthammer, trice, DirtyML, Rutager, and mountaineers101
The main question that comes to mind is whether Lauzon will be able to take Pettis down in the first round. I doubt J Lau will stand and bang, and Pettis has been drilling wrestling all this time, so it makes it interesting. I guess if Pettis withstands the early onslaught, and I believe he will, he should take it. A lot depends on the state of his wrestling though and on whether he will be able to get over octagon jitters that clearly bothered him in his fight against Stephens. Cause if Pettis gets his striking loose it’s pretty awesome show.
I rewatched the pettis henderson fight a while back
he hangs with bendo in the scrambles. He’s showtime, but he’s better rounded than most believe.
This is an oule.
by some schmuck in texas on Feb 21, 2012 2:24 PM EST up reply actions
Yep
He’s already a very complete fighter. He’s just young.
"I'm ready for fight. If I'm win, no win. I don't know. But, I'm ready for fight. This is my working[shrugs shoulders]" - Anderson Silva
"You'll get Lil Wayne in woman pants and like it!" - Krimson
it was a change of styles going from the WEC to the UFC
Pettis looked good against Bendo because he was fighting an exciting fighter who actively works for the finish, thus allowing him to work and scramble. With Guida and Stephens, he was faced with two fighters who went in there to put him on his back and play it safe to maintain top position and win points. There was never any opportunity for scrambles in those fights. If Lauzon goes in there to lay n pray, it’ll basically be a wrestling match. But if Lauzon either goes in to stand or to sub, it should be a crazy fight whether its on the ground or the feet.
I still give Pettis credit
Stephens went in their and turned it into a wrestling match, and Pettis out wrestled him. It wasn’t exciting, but when a guy shows offensive wrestling, it usually means that he is picking up an understanding of the wrestling game more than he did before.
by discoandherpes on Feb 23, 2012 7:09 PM EST up reply actions
To hell with it
I’m taking J Lau in this one. Should be a great first round!
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