Lauzon self-imposes concussion protocol

UFC lightweight Joe Lauzon is one of the smartest figures in the sport. He’s been fighting since 2004, in the UFC since 2006. And he’s tied with Nate Diaz for most performance bonus awards in UFC history, with 15. In short, JLau is someone mixed martial arts should listen to.

Precious little is understood about concussion, but rest is known to aid in recovery. And the opposite is truer still – if you get a concussion and don’t rest, the consequences can be catastrophic.

Lauzon lost his last fight via TKO to Clay Guida at UFC Fight Night 120 on November 11, 2017, in Norfolk, Virginia. The Virginia Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation’s Boxing, Martial Arts, and Professional Wrestling Advisory Board suspended Lauzon for 45 days, but the fighter imposed his own protocol, as he explained during a recent appearance on MMAjunkie Radio.

I didn’t do anything for a month and a half, two months almost, said Lauzon, as transcribed by MMAjunkie. “I worked out with Calvin Kattar and Rob Font a couple of times. It was kind of lighter sparring, so I get hit a little bit – but not hard. But I didn’t do anything – no getting hit in the head at all. That was a big thing. And rest.

Resting is so overlooked by guys. I hear about guys all the time, whether they’re in the UFC or trying to get to the UFC or whatever, they get knocked out in the gym, or they go down really, really hard. And then a week later, or a couple days later, or the next round, they’re back in there. I think that’s so irresponsible. They have to take better care of themselves.

For us, we took a month, month-and-a-half. We’re not messing with anything. It sucks sometimes being on the sidelines, and feeling like, ‘Oh, I could train right now.’ But you can’t. You have to give your brain time to rest.

Joe Lauzon fights Chris Gruetzemacher at UFC 223: Ferguson vs. Khabib on April 7, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.