Lauzon inks new 8-fight deal with UFC
Joe Lauzon: “I told them I wasn’t trying to play hardball, I wasn’t trying to renegotiate, I only want to fight for the UFC. I’ve done really well in bonuses…”
This week it was announced that Joe Lauzon would return to the Octagon this summer versus Takanori Gomi in Chicago, but today it was revealed he has also signed a new long term deal which he hopes to bring him to the end of his professional career:
They wanted me to sign a new deal so I ended up flying out, Lauzon told the Herald. I told them I wasn’t trying to play hardball, I wasn’t trying to renegotiate, I only want to fight for the UFC. I’ve done really well in bonuses, they’ve taken great care of me.
Indeed, Lauzon’s 13 bonuses — mid-five-figure payouts for earning the best knockout, best submission, or best fight on a card — are the most any fighter has won. His go-for-broke grappling style and scrappiness on his feet has won him premium spots on UFC bills, including his July 25 prime-time fight on Fox against Takanori Gomi.
Lauzon, who averages two fights a year and is coming off a bruising defeat in January to New York slugger Al Iaquinta, said the contract covers him for pretty much the rest of my career as far as I’m concerned.
If I was done fighting right now, I’d be OK, I wouldn’t be upset about anything, said Lauzon, whose pro record stands at 24-10, including 18 UFC appearances. But I do still enjoy it. I like training, I like going through fight camps, I like testing myself. It helps that I’m making better money than I ever have before. So we’ll kind of see how this all plays out.