I caught up with UFC lightweight Dan "The Upgrade" Lauzon for a Full Contact Fighter interview. He's definitely excited to be back in the UFC and fighting on the same card as Vitor Belfort, his favorite fighter of all time, but part of him is still pissed about not being able to fight Chris Horodecki.
Dan Lauzon Joins His Hero at UFC 103
by Matt Kaplan
Dan Lauzon is living a dream. Again.
Not long ago, the 21-year-old lightweight was ready to face Chris Horodecki on August 1 at Affliction “Trilogy.” In fact, he was hoping to finish off Horodecki quickly so he could grab a seat, kick back, and cheer on Vitor Belfort, his MMA hero, against Jorge Santiago. Unfortunately, with the sudden collapse of Affliction as an MMA promotion, it seemed Lauzon had lost out on the opportunities to face Horodecki and watch Belfort fight in person.
But with Affliction dead and buried, Lauzon (12-2) is back in the UFC - he last appeared at UFC 64 – and, in the first fight of his new four-fight deal, will be taking on Rafaello Oliveria (8-1) at UFC 103 on September 19 in Dallas.
“(The UFC) is the number one place I’ve always wanted to fight, ever since I was little. When I first started training, I dreamed of fighting in the UFC. And then doing it when I was 18, and battling back and getting another opportunity, being older, more mature, and mentally and physically so much better than I was before. I’m thankful for the opportunity.”
A major benefit of being back in the UFC, Lauzon offered, is the stability of the world’s premier MMA promotion, something that he has come to fully appreciate.
“It’s great to get to work with a company that doesn’t have so many problems. With Affliction, you know, it was tough to get motivated for fights because you never knew what was going to happen…Unprofessional. Being a new show, there were a lot of ups and down, noting was ever really finalized. But with the UFC, nothing like that is ever going to happen.”
And making Lauzon’s Octagon return even better is that it puts him, once again, on the same card as Vitor Belfort, who will face Rich Franklin in the main event.
“He’s my favorite fighter, so I’m just stoked – again! – to be on the same card as him…I don’t care who he’s fighting, I think he’s gonna win. And I hope he wins every time.”
Lauzon may be excited for Belfort, but his focus remains on Oliveira.
“His stand-up doesn’t really look like it’s too good. It doesn’t really look like he wants to stand with people…It looks like he throws a one-two, one-two, gets in on the guys’ legs, and gets top position. You can tell his jiu-jitsu is good if you watch him fight. He’s got a pretty good ground-and-pound. I think I have to use my hands, exploit his stand-up a little, and I’d like to get top position on him.
“I think he’s pretty well-rounded, and I think I’m well-rounded. It’s going to come down to who’s more aggressive. He’s an aggressive guy, and when you fight an aggressive guy, you’ve got to get off first, be the first to strike.
“It’s gonna be good. There’ll be fireworks. I’m stoked to be fighting somebody from BJ (Penn)’s camp because I have so much respect for BJ…He’s the man, he’s the best, so I’m very excited to fight somebody he thinks so highly of.”
But even with a new deal with the world’s premier MMA promotion and the chance to fight in the same stable as his brother Joe and the great Vitor Belfort, Lauzon admitted to being a little frustrated over not being able to fight Horodecki; the two were scheduled to fight three times already.
Lauzon said that Horodecki was considered as an opponent for him at 103, but the young Canadian never signed with the UFC. Lauzon offered his theory why.
“I don’t really think he wants to fight in the UFC yet. He’s had one fight inside a cage in his 15 fights, and I just think a cage is really bad for his style. It’s much easier to get taken down in a cage. If somebody gets you against that, Horodecki wouldn’t be able to escape under the ropes or hold on to the ropes like he likes to do…I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”
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