Lauzon: A decision is not definitive, a tap or KO is
Joe Lauzon was scheduled to face Terry Etim at Saturday’s UFC on FOX 4, but just over a month ago,…
Joe Lauzon was scheduled to face Terry Etim at Saturday’s UFC on FOX 4, but just over a month ago, Etim dropped with an injury, and was replaced by Jamie Varner.
Lauzon doesn’t consider himself in a lose-lose situation, even if Varner is thought to be in win-win territory.
“I’m not training for the fighter – I’m training for the bonus,” Lauzon on Wednesday told MMAjunkie.com after a workout. “I’m going after that submission, I’m going after that knockout, whatever it’s got to be. But I always have something to win.”
“Terry Etim’s style is so different from Jamie Varner’s. He’s like 6-foot-3 or something – really tall, really lanky, uses all his long-range weapons and his kicks. We did a lot of (training) that was very specific to Terry Etim that only he does. And now I’m going to a guy who’s completely different and doesn’t do any of the same stuff. We have like two months of training that was down the drain.”
“I always try to finish. If I had a win that went to a decision, that wouldn’t feel nearly the same to me. It’s not definitive. A submission or a knockout is definitive – a judges’ decision is not.”
“(Varner) is trying to keep his job, so it’s not that he has nothing to lose. But I’ve been in that underdog role quite a bit – so I know what happens when people sleep on you a little bit. I’m happy to fight him – it’s a tough fight.”