Joe Lauzon recently opened up about the lingering uncertainty surrounding his UFC career.
Lauzon is a name that might not resonate with newer MMA fans, but he was once celebrated as one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC lightweight division of his era, holding the third-highest number of post-fight bonuses in the company's history.
"J-Lau" has been absent from the Octagon since delivering a first-round TKO victory over Jonathan Pearce in October 2019, a win that ended his three-fight losing streak. In August 2023, Lauzon lobbied for a spot at UFC 292 in Boston, but the promotion declined, signaling that his services were no longer required. Even UFC CEO Dana White publicly urged him to hang up his gloves for good.
The 40-year-old Massachusetts native has considered himself semi-retired during his five-year hiatus, admitting that he’d only return to active competition if a truly compelling matchup came his way. However, with no such opportunity on the horizon, Lauzon now finds himself at a crossroads…
During a recent interview with MMAFightingonSBN, Lauzon opened up about his time away from the Octagon. The seasoned UFC lightweight admitted he's unsure about the future of his career, yet he remains committed to training regularly despite not actively pursuing any fight opportunities.
I've been focused more on my gym than I have on training," Lauzon said. "Everyone's always asking, like, 'Oh, are you going to fight again? Are you not going to fight again?' and my answer is always kind of ambiguous—I don't really know. I wanted to fight Chase Hooper last summer when they were going to come to Boston, but that didn't work out; they didn't want to do that. So, I don't know. If they came to me with a fight and a matchup that I liked… I'm still training all the time, but I'm not pressing the issue.
"J-Lau" also revealed that, despite his inactivity, he's still under contract with the UFC. However, he admitted that he’s unclear on how to exit the agreement, especially since he’s not actively pursuing a fight.
I don't exactly know a valid way to get out of the contract—not that I'm trying to—but I think that there's a bunch of reasons it can kind of freeze or get prolonged, right? So I think it's if you turn down a fight, if you are injured, or if you retire—you know, those things all prolong and extend it, right? So, from my perspective, I'm not really trying to fight anywhere else, so I don't really care. I'm still in the USADA pool, which is not even annoying, but a little bit annoying.
I still have USADA—or not USADA, but Drug Free Sport—show up, and they test me every once in a while. But otherwise, I mean, I think it's just extended perpetually, like until whenever. I'm in a weird spot where I don't really care about actively fighting.
Lauzon stands as the longest-serving fighter on the current UFC roster. Since his promotional debut at UFC 63 back in 2006, he has stepped into the Octagon 27 times.
"J-Lau" has faced numerous hurdles in securing fights over the years. He was set to clash with Donald Cerrone on three separate occasions, but the bout was postponed once and canceled twice, all before "Cowboy" eventually called it a career.
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