Veteran UFC competitor Joe Lauzon has shed light on his MMA future after the cancelation of his long-awaited comeback fight. Lauzon was scheduled to face Donald Cerrone in a lightweight matchup at UFC 274 on May 7. However, a bout of food poisoning led to Cerrone’s withdrawal from the event.
The Cerrone matchup was set to be Lauzon’s first fight since October 2019. Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Lauzon insinuated that he’d love to fight Cerrone. Talking about his potential return to the octagon, Lauzon said:
“If they’re willing to do it in Austin, if they’re gonna do it in two weeks, I’m definitely in. Even in six weeks, I’m sure I’ll be in. It would be hard for me to say no. I hear they’re coming to Boston this fall, August, September, something like that."
He continued:
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"That would be nice to fight on that card, but that would also be like a huge kick in the n**s. I feel like, ‘Oh, you did this entire three-month camp. You focused on ‘Cowboy,’ and now we’re gonna do it another four months or something like that.’ That would be pretty cr**py.”
The 37-year-old Massachusetts native reiterated that he’d love to fight in Boston but would have to think about it. Lauzon suggested that he doesn’t know if he’ll fight again or retire. Presently, it’s unknown if the UFC will rebook the dream matchup between Lauzon and fellow fan-favorite MMA fighter Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.
Lauzon highlighted that he’s primarily been away from the octagon as he was worried about his scheduled fights being canceled due to COVID-19 related reasons. Speaking of which, he notably pointed out that the Cerrone matchup did end up getting canceled, albeit due to a non-COVID-19 reason.
Watch Joe Lauzon talk about his next fight at 21 minutes of the below video:
Donald Cerrone continues to lobby for fight against Joe Lauzon
MMA legend Donald Cerrone addressed his withdrawal from UFC 274 in an Instagram video, wherein he thanked Joe Lauzon and the UFC for understanding his situation. Nevertheless, ‘Cowboy’ indicated that he’d like the Lauzon matchup to be rescheduled.
Donald Cerrone, a veteran of 48 fights under the Zuffa banner in the WEC and the UFC combined, confirmed that he’ll compete in two more fights before hanging up his gloves. The statement attached to Cerrone’s Instagram post regarding his MMA future read as follows:
"This is not the way I wanted this fight to go. 48 fights I’ve never had to pull OUT. Thanks you @ufc and like I just said probably 50 is my number!!!! 2 more fights then I ride off into the sunset"
Watch Cerrone talk about his future plans: