2010-07-24 02:13:49 +0000 #1
Good read from Bloody Elbow:
www.bloodyelbow.com/...-lauzon-on#storyjump
On September 23, 2006, at UFC 63, Joe Lauzon shocked the world (and especially venerable MMA star Jens Pulver) by knocking the former lightweight champion out in Lauzon's Octagon debut. A stint on The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 followed and Lauzon quickly became a cult favorite among hardcore UFC fans. Lauzon is one of the sport's most exciting fighters and there are metrics to prove it. In seven UFC fights, Lauzon has won a post fight bonus in five of them.
Joe was kind enough to stop in before his fight with Terry Etim at UFC 118 (a fight to be shown live on SPIKE TV) to take your questions.
49er16 : How do you plan to defend against Etims Muay Thai?
Joe Lauzon: When you talk about a Thai clinch, there's a lot of things you can do. Thai wise, you can strike him back and there's a lot of things you can do wrestling wise. It's tough to defend against both, so I think I'm going to use a combination of both. A combination of defending knees, attacking with my own knees, looking for takedowns. Whenever you talk about throwing knees or throwing kicks, you're always running the risk of a takedown. I think that's going to be a pretty big weapon for me. It's going to be the key to the fight, all the way around.
esquilinho : How has Abmar Barbosa improved your BJJ? Following up: Do you think he will kill you if you let Etim up off of the ground?
Joe Lauzon: Abmar is a man. This question is coming because he said 'I'll fucking kill you if you let him up off the ground.' Once you get him down, Abmar is adamant about making him pay. Once you get him down it's about making him pay a price, not giving him a free pass. If you get him on the ground, you have to finish him. That's what he believes. So we're working on just tightening up everything. My control posture for ground and pound, setting up my strikes, and making sure I'm sharp in catching submissions. Abmar is awesome.
Plus, Terry is about 6-1 and Abmar is 6-2. So Abmar is studying his game and doing a lot of the things that Terry likes to do. So I'm preparing for an even better Terry Etim, because I'm sure Abmar has way better Jiu Jitsu. Abmar is a beast on the ground, so I think we'll do well there.
Jonathan Snowden: How important is it for you to have somebody mimic your opponent like that? As opposed to a generic training partner just drilling technique.
Joe Lauzon: We do this every single fight, whether it's my fight or someone else's. We try to matchup guys bodywise, then we match them up skillwise, then we take it further by having them go for the same things. If I'm fighting a wrestler, we'll have someone learn to shoot a takedown the same why they do and drill for that. Get the best wrestler we can, around that size, and have them shoot the same takedowns.
I'm not saying my guys who are mimicking will be able to do it at the exact same level as Terry. Obviously that's not their game; they're copying Terry's game. But you know, it still gives you a cool look, and it's a great indicator for how the fight is going to go.
goes on to talk BJ Penn, Florian vs Gray, and much more
www.bloodyelbow.com/...-lauzon-on#storyjump
www.bloodyelbow.com/...-lauzon-on#storyjump
On September 23, 2006, at UFC 63, Joe Lauzon shocked the world (and especially venerable MMA star Jens Pulver) by knocking the former lightweight champion out in Lauzon's Octagon debut. A stint on The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 followed and Lauzon quickly became a cult favorite among hardcore UFC fans. Lauzon is one of the sport's most exciting fighters and there are metrics to prove it. In seven UFC fights, Lauzon has won a post fight bonus in five of them.
Joe was kind enough to stop in before his fight with Terry Etim at UFC 118 (a fight to be shown live on SPIKE TV) to take your questions.
49er16 : How do you plan to defend against Etims Muay Thai?
Joe Lauzon: When you talk about a Thai clinch, there's a lot of things you can do. Thai wise, you can strike him back and there's a lot of things you can do wrestling wise. It's tough to defend against both, so I think I'm going to use a combination of both. A combination of defending knees, attacking with my own knees, looking for takedowns. Whenever you talk about throwing knees or throwing kicks, you're always running the risk of a takedown. I think that's going to be a pretty big weapon for me. It's going to be the key to the fight, all the way around.
esquilinho : How has Abmar Barbosa improved your BJJ? Following up: Do you think he will kill you if you let Etim up off of the ground?
Joe Lauzon: Abmar is a man. This question is coming because he said 'I'll fucking kill you if you let him up off the ground.' Once you get him down, Abmar is adamant about making him pay. Once you get him down it's about making him pay a price, not giving him a free pass. If you get him on the ground, you have to finish him. That's what he believes. So we're working on just tightening up everything. My control posture for ground and pound, setting up my strikes, and making sure I'm sharp in catching submissions. Abmar is awesome.
Plus, Terry is about 6-1 and Abmar is 6-2. So Abmar is studying his game and doing a lot of the things that Terry likes to do. So I'm preparing for an even better Terry Etim, because I'm sure Abmar has way better Jiu Jitsu. Abmar is a beast on the ground, so I think we'll do well there.
Jonathan Snowden: How important is it for you to have somebody mimic your opponent like that? As opposed to a generic training partner just drilling technique.
Joe Lauzon: We do this every single fight, whether it's my fight or someone else's. We try to matchup guys bodywise, then we match them up skillwise, then we take it further by having them go for the same things. If I'm fighting a wrestler, we'll have someone learn to shoot a takedown the same why they do and drill for that. Get the best wrestler we can, around that size, and have them shoot the same takedowns.
I'm not saying my guys who are mimicking will be able to do it at the exact same level as Terry. Obviously that's not their game; they're copying Terry's game. But you know, it still gives you a cool look, and it's a great indicator for how the fight is going to go.
goes on to talk BJ Penn, Florian vs Gray, and much more
www.bloodyelbow.com/...-lauzon-on#storyjump
