FIRST THINGS FIRST
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Every Tuesday morning I send out a breakdown of the best combat sports action. In less than 10 minutes you'll learn how the top fighters win and anything else fighters, martial artists, and fight fans need to know.
One of the most exciting fighters to ever put on a pair of gloves left the UFC last week with next to no announcement. Before they fall out of our memory, we’re going to review what made them so exciting from the moment they stepped into the UFC.
Before we get started I want to shout out this week’s sponsor Choju.
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Now let’s get into it.
What's In Today's Letter?
On September 23rd 2006 an MMA legend returned to the place where they made their name. 31 year old Jens Pulver came back to the UFC to restart their 155 division.
Pulver was the UFC’s first lightweight champ. He won the belt by beating Caol Uno. Then he defended the title against Dennis Hallman and BJ Penn.
If you’re a newer fan, that’s a who’s who of old school fighters.
Pulver left the UFC due to a contract dispute. Then the promotion closed what is now a marquee division for 3 years. But with new interest, cash coming in, and talented fighters all over the world, the UFC had to reopen lightweight in 2006.
Pulver was matched against a skinny 22 year old who’s ears fanned far from his head. Pulver was a 7-1 favorite for the squash match. Then this happened.
Lauzon is pressing forward, swinging and trying to pass. Pulver uses a butterfly hook to make space and wall walk. Lauzon grabs a single and pulls him back down. Pulver bounces up to his feet and the two move off of the cage. Lauzon tags Pulver, hits him with a knee, and drops him with a left hook. Lauzon swarms and the fight gets called.
Joe Lauzon - Jens Pulver
The 45 seconds above was the beginning of a wild career that ended last week. It was 13 years of some of the most entertaining action you’ll ever see. Beneath the pools of blood was craft and skill we rarely have the privilege to enjoy so we’re going to take a look at what made Lauzon so special and learn from one of the UFC’s best finishers.
HIGH AMPLITUDE TAKEDOWNS:
How Joe Lauzon Made It To The Ground
In spite of Lauzon’s entrance to the UFC most of his success came on the floor. He had good timing with his wrestling. He could shoot on his opponents’ legs and hips to start the exchanges, but his best takedowns came from body locks and trips.
Lauzon and Ray are moving around one another, fighting for position in the clinch. Lauzon lifts Ray with a right under hook, grabs a body lock, and trips him. Ray uses a whizzer to start getting back up but Lauzon steps over him to start taking Ray’s back. Ray rolls to a leg lock. He gets outside ashi. Lauzon stands over him and starts striking.
Joe Lauzon - Stevie Ray
One interesting quirk from Lauzon’s game was his willingness and ability to throw the flying leg scissor, kani basami.
Lauzon launches his body into the air, with a kani basami to land in cross ashi and attack an inverted heel hook. Bradley immediately fights Lauzon’s grip to take pressure off of his knee. Lauzon doesn’t control Bradley’s secondary leg so he raises his hips, turns his leg, and kicks out to safety.
Joe Lauzon - Kyle Bradley
Lauzon never finished a leg lock in the UFC but according to his former training partner Tom Lawlor, “Lauzon probably had double digit wins by this technique if you count his grappling and amateur fights”. I don’t have any way to verify that. But I can see Lauzon was really really good at throwing the flying leg scissor so I’ll just believe Lawlor. It’s more fun that way.
Anyway, below Lauzon combines body lock offense and the kani basami.
Stephens is trying to strike out of the clinch. He lands a body punch and a knee. Then Lauzon throws a kani basami. Stephens immediately pushes Lauzon’s knees and pulls his leg out. Then Lauzon sits up and grabs body lock. He walks Stephens back for sagging behind his knee for the trip.
Joe Lauzon - Jeremy Stephens
This is the pace Lauzon always fought at. Head first, going forward, and looking for any opening to finish the fight on his terms.
FUNDAMENTALS AND A TRICKY BOTTOM GAME:
How Joe Lauzon Fought On Bottom
Joe Lauzon wasn’t just a top player. And that came in handy fighting in a division filled with wrestlers. Lauzon nailed the basics to reverse many of his opponents when he ended up on bottom.
Lauzon is lying in a pool of his own blood underneath Miller. He walks his feet closer to Miller while lifting his far leg and near hip. Lauzon bridges to bring Miller’s weight over him before rapidly turning back into Miller and getting to his knees so he can finish wrestling on top of him.
Joe Lauzon - Jim Miller
Much of Lauzon’s best scrambling came behind his butterfly hooks.
Lauzon is trying to attack a shoulder crunch. Stephens pulls away from it. Lauzon reaches up to get double under hooks and lock his hands. Now Lauzon alternates between rocking backward and sitting up behind extended butterfly hooks until he can get back to his feet.
Joe Lauzon - Jeremy Stephens
It wasn’t all basic guard play all the time. Lauzon had weird moves to reverse his opponents whenever the fundamentals failed.
Florian is in side control. He’s landing short elbows on Lauzon. Lauzon steps over Florian’s near leg with his left leg to get to empty half guard. Now Florian is stuck on top but unable to counter Lauzon’s movement. Lauzon bridges and turns into Florian to get back to his feet. He grabs a body lock and throws Florian onto his back.
Joe Lauzon - Kenny Florian
Now let’s get back to Lauzon’s lights out top game.
STRIKING AND UNORTHODOX CONTROL:
Joe Lauzon Made People Pay For Moving
Joe Lauzon lived in the scramble. When his opponents found space, they quickly learned that it was his only there so he could find a finishing opportunity.
Lauzon picks up a single and runs Gomi to the fence. Gomi turns away and falls. Lauzon gets one hook in and scoops Gomi’s leg on the opposite side similar to a Suloev stretch. He uses it to pull Gomi down to his butt. Gomi turns over to turtle again and Lauzon takes his back.
Joe Lauzon - Takanori Gomi
And here Lauzon takes Gomi’s escape attempts and makes him pay.
Gomi is holding onto Lauzon’s right wrist. Lauzon uses his left to punch and elbow Gomi. Lauzon grabs Gomi’s left wrist with his left arm and uses his right to elbow Gomi. Then he threads his left arm under Gomi’s left and behind his neck for a half nelson. Lauzon thrusts his hips forward to flatten Gomi out and keep punching.
Joe Lauzon - Takanori Gomi
In Lauzon’s final win, he used a brutal control more people should learn.
Lauzon stuns Pearce with a right and falls into a body lock. Then he trips Pearce to go to mount. Pearce reaches up with his right arm. Lauzon reaches under Pearce’s right with his left and grabs Pearce’s far arm pit for a reverse half nelson, or stockade off of the back. Not sure what to call it because I’ve never seen it anywhere else.
Joe Lauzon - Jonathan Pearce
No article on Lauzon is complete without reviewing what made up the majority of his highlight reel.
LIGHTING FAST SUBMISSIONS:
Lauzon Had Fighting Ending Jiujitsu From Every Position
Joe Lauzon was a finisher. 64% of his wins came from submissions, including 12 in the first round.
Lauzon knee slices out of Reinhardt’s half guard. Reinhardt tries to explode up and Lauzon gets to north south. He puts his shin across Reinhardt’s chin and drops an elbow. Reinhardt turns to turtle. Lauzon hops on Reinhardt’s back, throws one leg over his arm, and pulls him into a rear naked choke.
Joe Lauzon - Jason Reinhardt
Even when his opponents defended his initial submission attempt he would often launch his limbs into new painful holds.
Lauzon is holding on to a sloppy rear naked choke. Melendez pushes Lauzon’s elbow up to turn into Lauzon’s full guard. In the process Lauzon throws his right leg over Melendez’s shoulder. Now he has a triangle choke. Lauzon grabs his foot and rotates beneath Melendez to get the submission.
Joe Lauzon - Brandon Melendez
Never content to sit on a lead, Lauzon would often fall back into submission attempts from dominant pinning positions.
Lauzon is in side control. He drops an elbow and sits to his right hip. Then he grabs Stephens’s right leg to pull it down, step over Stephens’s chest, and get to mount. Stephens turns, Lauzon dismounts, and does the same thing on the other side. Stephens extends his arm. Lauzon slides up to a high mount and falls back on the arm bar. Stephens hops and rolls but is forced to tap.
Joe Lauzon - Jeremy Stephens
More often than not, Lauzon would use the space from strikes and big throws to go straight to submissions.
Lauzon holds Ruediger’s right hip with his right while he punches with his left. Ruediger stands up. Lauzon slams him back to the ground and takes his back. Lauzon starts punching Ruediger. Ruediger turns and extends his arm. Lauzon snatches it up and falls back on the arm bar.
Joe Lauzon - Gabe Ruediger
THE YOUNG EAT THE OLD:
We Need To Revere The Ones That Made The Sport
One of the surprising things about Joe Lauzon’s career was how it ended. He wasn’t put up as a lamb to slaughter so some new prospect could make their name off of him. He didn’t even get one final fight. He just faded out.
Lauzon’s last win was his finish of Jonathan Pearce 6 years ago. After 3 years of no reported activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lauzon was scheduled to fight Donald Cerrone. That fight fell through three times.
Then Lauzon was denied from fighting in Boston at UFC 292. Soon after, Dana White said he’d like to see Lauzon retire. Lauzon wasn’t necessarily on board with that idea but he also didn’t want to fight anywhere else. He added he didn’t even know how to get out of his contract if he wanted to.
After 13 years of injuries and agony for our entertainment we got a few throwaways articles saying Lauzon was one of several fighters let go from the UFC. So it goes.
And it’s this lack of coverage that leaves me feeling like a piece of my fandom died.
I’m not going to pretend that Lauzon meant anything more to me than entertainment. I mean, I literally never met the guy. He only exists on my TV and UFC Fight Pass. Is he even real?
To the extent he is, he’s just a contractor for an entertainment company. They don’t owe him anything more than what he was already paid.
But something is just so cosmically empty about a fan favorite who grew up down the road from his company’s CEO and president not getting so much as one last fight (aka an opportunity to make his employer money!), let alone a good-bye.
I’m struggling to think of a more clever way to say it but it really is this simple. It’s never been more clear that the UFC doesn’t care about their fighters. It’s starting to look like they don’t even care about fighting.
I feel like I’m one of the last people at a party where the host wants everyone to leave. We’re all having fun slowly saying our good-byes when they decide to shut the lights off and go to bed. It’s as much anticlimactic as it is a reminder that they hardly care about this particular party, let alone everyone who made it happen, because they know there will be more people and more parties in their future.
Who cares if you’re upset? Someone else will take your spot.
But I do care. I, like you, am impressed by the men and women who put their lives on the line in the name of entertaining self mastery just to end up as underpaid artist-athletes. And I, like many of you, practice martial arts. Watching MMA is as much entertainment as it is doing homework.
So I guess the end of Lauzon’s career is a reminder that we need to pay attention to what’s interesting and weird and cool and actually unique high quality martial arts when it is here because it’s not going to last. And many won’t even care that it happened, let alone remember.
If we are going to stand on the shoulders of giants we need to watch the horizon carefully, in hopes that we can catch one while it’s here before it realizes it has better things to do.
HELP DESK UPDATES:
What Are We Talking About Today?
I spent the weekend moving important studies over to the Help Desk. It’s coverage of the best action from ADCC 2024, as well as analysis of one person’s impassable guard at CJI.
If you want to learn what submission was oddly prevalent at ADCC 2024, which newcomers broke through, and what technical trends they kicked off, you have to read this article.
Want to relive the best action from the biggest weekend ever in grappling? Click here to upgrade your subscription and access the the Help Desk. The Help Desk comes with:
A library of technique gifs and explanations
Analysis of classic fights with high level grappling
Regularly updated articles on techniques, athletes, and principles of fighting
LINKS, INSTRUCTIONALS, AND MORE MATCHES TO STUDY:
More Lauzon Lore
You can watch a highlight reel of Joe Lauzon’s finishes here.
Click here to watch Lauzon fight Jorge Masvidal way before either of them made it to the UFC.
If you want to see the video that made Lauzon an early Youtube legend watch this video of him fighting his brother Dan Lauzon, another UFC fighter.
THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS (you might have missed)
ADCC 2026’s tickets are now available here.
The UFC’s new venture officially has a home. Paramount+ will be broadcasting Zuffa Boxing. Many, like boxing legend Roy Jones Jr., fear that Dana White will turn boxing into the UFC and ruin the sport. But if you listen to White’s recent interview with Brian Campbell, he claims that the UFC won’t even change the legislature that protects boxers, let alone ruin the sport.
I don’t have high hopes for the sport. I think that the only way boxers retain some semblance of control is if a critical mass of stars flat out say they won’t sign with Zuffa boxing.
Thanks for reading today. If you enjoyed this piece and want to read more about the top techniques, principles, and stories from the world of fighting upgrade to the Help Desk! The Help Desk has:
Detailed analysis of specific techniques, athletes, and themes
A searchable technique library with gifs and explanations
New content added every week
Accessing the Open Note Grappling Help Desk only costs $5 per month and it’s the best way to support my work. You can even try a week for free if you click here.
