Despite 23 UFC fights, here's why 32-year-old Joe Lauzon isn't slowing down

PHOENIX – As his 23rd UFC fight draws near, Joe Lauzon doesn’t think his 32-year-old body is any less capable than the 22-year-old one that first stepped into the octagon.

Set to face fellow lightweight Marcin Held (22-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 103 event, Lauzon (26-12 MMA, 13-9 UFC) answers a straightforward “I don’t know” to those who question how many fights he’s still got left. After all, if you’d told him after his UFC debut more than a decade ago that he’d still be around in 2017, he’d probably call you crazy.

“I didn’t think I’d be here this long, but I’m still here,” Lauzon told MMAjunkie. “And I don’t feel like I’m slowing down. I really don’t. There are better guys all the time. But I don’t feel any worse now then I was then. I don’t feel that they’ve got a head start on me or a jump ahead. It’s just the way it goes.”

Tied with Nate Diaz for the most UFC fight-night bonuses, Lauzon hasn’t become one of the most exciting names in the promotion by playing it safe. So if it’s not holding back inside the cage, what exactly is the secret to his longevity?

“I’m averaging two fights a year, and a lot of guys are averaging a lot more,” Lauzon said. “A guy like ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, he’s banging what – five, six fights a year? There’s a lot more wear and tear there.

“We train really smart. If I don’t have a fight coming up, I’m not sparring. I’m not getting hit in the head. It’s all drilling and technique and mitts and jiu-jitsu, which is way way better for longevity than boxing, sparring, three days a week.”

UFC Fight Night 103 takes place at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. Lauzon vs. Held co-headlines the FS1 portion of the card, which follows early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

This is Lauzon’s first time in the octagon since a UFC on FOX 21 appointment with Jim Miller that ended on a somewhat controversial note. Although two of the judges awarded Miller the win that night, Lauzon was the runaway winner when it came to scoring from media and fans.

On his end, Lauzon thought he won too – so much that he was more worried about his post-fight speech than he was about the scorecards. Looking back, he said the odd scoring may have been the result of what turned out to be a very expensive confusion.

“(I was) absolutely devastated,” Lauzon said. “And part of it I think is that I was wearing blue shorts but I was the red corner. And he was in the blue corner. So I think it’s kind of confusing. And we’ve got the same thing this week. So now I’m blue shorts, and I’m red corner.

“One of the judges, it was his first MMA fight ever he ever judged. He’d never done local shows, never done small shows. That’s more a commission thing than a UFC thing, but it’s frustrating because it’s a lot of money. It cost me $60,000 that night, and then you’re talking $5,000 to $10,000 every fight going forward because I don’t get that step up.

“So it’s really disheartening, kind of the way it all went down. I got a ‘Fight of the Night’ (bonus), but it’s not the same either. It’s kind of crappy.”

Like Lauzon, Held looks to bounce back after dropping a unanimous decision to Diego Sanchez in his November UFC debut. A submission expert with a penchant for leg locks, Held owns a dangerous but somewhat risky game, especially when dealing with more seasoned competitors.

Lauzon has visualized the “biggest baddest” version of Held and planned accordingly. But, in spite of being no dummy on the ground himself, he said it might not be the most clever of plans to play at his opponent’s strengths.

“I think I absolutely have it in me to go back and leg lock him, but I don’t think it’s the smart play,” Lauzon said. “It seems like I’m always fighting kickboxers that I can exploit their jiu-jitsu and I can take them down and out-jiu-jitsu them, which is a little different. Honestly, I think I’m better everywhere, but I think I’m going to have the bigger gap skill-wise on the standup stuff, so I’ll probably try to keep it up a little bit.

“He’s going to go for those leg-locks. It’s really tough to stop someone from rolling underneath and getting your leg, but we’ll defend, and we’ll deal with it as it comes. Whatever we have to do, we’ll do. And if it ends up being a grappling match, it ends up being a grappling match. If it ends up being a kickboxing match, that’s fine too. However he wants to go, we’re ready.”

Lauzon may have become known for putting on bloody wars, but if he were to have it his way, Sunday’s battle wouldn’t necessarily be an epic one.

“Knock him out, right off the bat,” Lauzon said. “First punch. Knock him out, walk away, no blood in the cage, no injuries, no sore anything, nice and easy. Just like the Diego fight would be perfect.”

To hear more from Lauzon on Held, Miller and his decade-long UFC career, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 103, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.