Godzilla Gets Clobbered
It’s always fun to write titles like that, but really, it was no surprise.
Hometown boy Joe Lauzon made quick work of fellow TUF 5 cast member Gabe “Godzilla” Ruediger, taking the fight to the over-matched journeyman and forcing him to tap to an armbar in 121 seconds.
After getting soundly beaten by Sam Stout in his first fight back from knee surgery in January, the real Joe Lauzon stood up Saturday night, showing why he is a solid contender in the increasingly deep lightweight division. Outside of his uneven performance against Stout, his lone loss in the division came to Kenny Florian in April 2008. His next fight should be a sterner challenge than Ruediger and will go a long way to showing where Lauzon sits in the 155-pound division.
Brits are Still Allergic to Wrestling
It continues to astound me how few answers most fighters from across the pond have for the most dominant base style in mixed martial arts today.
Andre Winner had nothing to offer against Nik Lentz in their sleep-inducing encounter to kick-off the Prelims Live event on Spike, and while Nick Osipczak fared a little better against Greg Soto, he lost and a lot of that had to do with Soto’s superior skills on the ground and in close.
There are only a couple guys who come to mind as exceptions to the rule – welterweight contender John Hathaway and lightweight TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson – but on the whole, the continued failure of British fighters to adapt to the style that is currently dominating the sport is beyond strange.
Takedown defense is important, no matter what side of the Atlantic you live on.
High Five to Yves Lavigne
The much-maligned referee earns a shout out for ensuring that the Nate Diaz – Marcus Davis fight wasn’t prematurely stopped by the doctor following the first round.
As the fighters were ready to re-engage, the doctor wanted a look at growth forming on the side of Davis’ face, and Lavigne was quick to fire out something along the lines of, “He’s good, Doc. Talk to him – he’s good to go.”
First-time doctors are bound to be extra cautious and Davis’ cut was nasty, but it clearly wasn’t something that should have forced a stoppage, as he soldiered on for two more rounds. While Lavigne’s comments may not have swayed the doctor one way or the other, the guy who often gets tossed under the bus deserves a high-five for his actions last night.