Lauzon aims to be ‘dog that bites’
They were talking about him fighting for the title in Australia if he can get another win and things like…
They were talking about him fighting for the title in Australia if he can get another win and things like that, so it kind of felt like I was being set up to it a little bit, Lauzon said. But I like being in that position. I don’t mind the underdog role. I think a fight that I’m worried about is going to force me to train that much harder.
Since the loss to Florian, Lauzon has won 3-of-4 fights, although he also missed most of 2009 after tearing his right ACL. Lauzon had his most dominant performance in his last fight, tearing through Gabe Ruediger in two minutes at UFC 118 on Aug. 28 in Boston.
Lauzon’s destruction of Ruediger was so one-sided that he emerged completely unscathed. That allowed him to turn around quickly to accept the fight with Sotiropoulos. It’s a departure from his last two fights, which came after 11- and eight-month layoffs, respectively.
There’s time to take longer breaks and times to take shorter breaks so this is definitely a good time to take a shorter break, Lauzon said. I came out of the fight in great shape, I had a great training camp, I’m very healthy, so why go and wait extra time?
Lauzon knows if he beats Sotiropoulos he’ll need to string together a few more wins to get a title shot. But having been close in the past, the 26-year-old has every intention of seizing this opportunity.
I think every fight is the biggest of your career, Lauzon said. The only thing that’s going to matter is this fight. You could win 10 fights in a row, but you lose one and everyone says you’re overrated. Your last fight is always the most important.