Bloody Elbow: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Sports blogs for fans, by fans.
Around SBN: SB Nation NBA Power Rankings for Week 2

UFC Fight Night 13 Preview: Joe Lauzon Sizes Himself Up

He thinks the picture is a little more complicated than it looks:

"One thing I have in my favor is my unpredictability. Maybe in a straight boxing or Jiu Jitsu match Kenny would beat me, but you put everything together and that's where I'm best," Lauzon says looking towards his April 2nd Spike TV Fight Night showdown with Florian.

Though Lauzon clearly respects Florian's abilities, he also doesn't accept the notion that Florian is simply more advanced at the different elements of fighting on their own.

"I don't know. I think on the ground if you put me in a gi he'd choke me out but out of the gi I figure I'd do pretty well. Stand-up wise, Kenny has good kicks and may have the better total package but I have ways to deal with that. My transitions are stronger, I have cardio and I'm more explosive. He's a good athlete but if you'll notice his arms are real small for his fights, he looks sucked out. I'm not the thickest guy either but I'm pretty explosive for my size, very technical and have strength good with a good base," Lauzon says.

"I'm more explosive with wrestling and things like that. I think I'm better at putting things together. I've knocked out guys that have better stand up than me but because of how I put things together I've done well. I've gone against real good wrestlers, submitted guys with real good Jiu Jitsu. I don't think I'm the typical guy. I'm not the sum of my parts, you have to multiply my parts. I'm not too worried. I don't think I'm out-matched in skills at all," Lauzon continues.

When Lauzon says he puts things together well, I think he's referencing his speed and decisiveness in the transitions. He can throw a hook, shoot a double and if that is stuffed or somehow blocked, immediately granby roll for a knee bar. In this space, he excels and it does, indeed, make up for some shortcomings in single disciplines. I also think he is the more explosive athlete of the two and has the better wrestling. I don't know about the cardio and I'm really curious to see how the high altitude affects him.

My problem is I just don't know if this is enough against Florian. It will give Lauzon some decision making power over the fight's location, but either standing or on the ground Florian is hard to hurt and/or submit. So can Joe win by grinding out a three round decision against Florian a la Sherk? I have my doubts.

0 recs  |  Comment 0 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

"All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it." -- H.L. Mencken
Start posting on Bloody Elbow »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Weo_animation2_small
Frank Mir Doesn't Care About the Title, He Just Wants to End Brock Lesnar's Career
Nav-logo-hover_small
Cung Le: Smith is a Better Fight For Me
Picture_010_small
Fedor beatable, could not win UFC title!
Me_small
Strikeforce and Fedor come off looking good on CBS
Small
CBS/Strikeforce Broadcast Quality Unacceptable

Recent FanPosts

Small
The Greatest Fighters of all Time
Boogaard_small
Elizabeth Lambert should fight Cyborg or Gina Carano in the cage
Small
Brit Fighter Interview Blowout
Crowrobot_small
Two sides of the coin: Fedor
Small
Fedor vs the Bloody Elbow
Weo_animation2_small
Will We See Josh Barnett vs Fedor Emelianenko if Strikeforce Can't Get Alistair Overeem?
Logo_small
More from Miller-Davis aftermath
Just_tiger_small
Mark Miller vs. Deray Davis update: Miller’s management team speaks on canceled Strikeforce fight
Cassius_clay_small
MMA Tycoon

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

MMA Rankings

USA Today / SB Nation Consensus MMA Rankings