Joe Lauzon dispatches Mac Danzig with unanimous decision win
It wasn't the usual Joe Lauzon fight, but in a moment where he needed to get a victory the Boston area native put on a dominant performance to beat Mac Danzig in the kick off fight at UFC on FOX on Saturday night.
Lauzon entered the cage against Danzig on the first two fight losing streak of his career so he put plenty of self-applied pressure to ensure that he would stop the skid and get back on the winning track.
15 minutes later, Lauzon was a much happier man than he was after his last two bouts.
It didn't take long for Lauzon to press the action forward, grabbing a body lock and putting Danzig on his back. A few seconds later, Lauzon gets the mount and transitions to a beautiful armbar attempt, but his crafty veteran opponent is wise to the move and slips out. Danzig was able to work back to the feet, but not for long before Lauzon drags it back to the mat again.
The second round saw a slow down in action with the fighters working in the clinch as Danzig looked good inside landing some quick elbows and punches to Lauzon's head. A misstep during an exchange of knees ended Danzig's work on the feet, however, as Lauzon once again got it to the mat. Lauzon began to work his ground attack from the top and ended up opening a large cut on Danzig's head, painting his entire face red with blood. With Danzig's view obstructed from the blood, Lauzon moved fast into a mount and went for another armbar, but time ran out before he could secure the hold.
Danzig, sensing he was down two rounds to none, came out strong in the third looking to land combinations on the feet against Lauzon. His attacks were again subdued by Lauzon's grappling heavy offense, and the fight went back to the ground. From there Lauzon started to overwhelm Danzig, moving into the mount for the third time, but on this trip he decided to rain down elbows to punish his opponent from above instead of looking for the submission.
Lauzon wasn't able to get the finish, but he exuded dominance in every aspect of the ground game, shutting down Danzig at every turn. The final tally from the judges was a shutout for Lauzon with 30-27 scores across the board.
Lauzon (23-9) had said prior to this event that he felt he was in a must win situation after back-to-back losses and losing three out of his last four fights. While it wasn't the typical Lauzon barnburner that has tied him for the record of the most post fight bonuses in UFC history, it still got him the desired result he was so desperately seeking.
The loss for Danzig (22-12-1) marks his third defeat in a row and his overall record at 2-5 over his last seven fights. A former Ultimate Fighter champion, Danzig's struggles could be met with a release from the UFC after this fight and his recent struggles to find the winner's circle inside the Octagon.
