It’s been nearly five years since Joe Lauzon last competed in the UFC, and there’s a good chance his win over Jonathan Pearce will stand as the final fight of his career.
But he’s still not retiring.
Truth be told, Lauzon hasn’t been interested in staying active with his fighting career since he turned more of his focus on raising a family and building his gym in New England. He was actually booked to fight three separate times in 2022 against Donald Cerrone, but a myriad of injuries and illnesses ultimately forced UFC to scrap the matchup.
Lauzon eventually suggested a fight against Chase Hooper, but UFC passed and he’s remained on the sidelines ever since. That might make it sound like Lauzon really wants to fight and the UFC isn’t interested, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I understand them not wanting the Chase Hooper thing because that would be a pretty good matchup for me and that may be the last fight I’d want to do,” Lauzon told MMA Fighting. “It would kind of be the same. I’d have that fight, whether I win good or not, I would kind of be in the same position I’m in now. Maybe I’ll fight again if something makes sense and maybe I’m done.
“It doesn’t make a lot of sense for them to go and give me a matchup that’s favorable to me, and I’m not going to take a matchup that’s not favorable for me. So I’m just kind of stuck, I guess. I’m totally fine with it. The UFC’s been great to me. I’m not upset. I don’t feel like I’m stuck, like I’m locked or anything.”
Lauzon celebrated his 40th birthday this past May, but age has never been a defining factor when it comes to whether or not he fights again. Rather, it comes down to timing and opportunity, and if those two factors don’t line up, then Lauzon has no problem hanging out in limbo.
As time passes and his inactivity grows, Lauzon admits there’s a good chance he’s already fought in the UFC for the final time, but he refuses to put that final nail in the coffin of his fight career.
“It’s probably likely that I won’t fight again, but I hate when people say they go and retire,” Lauzon said. “Because how many times do people retire, they say they’re retired, and the next thing you know, they’re announced on a card six months or a year later, or whatever it’s going to be.
“I’m still training all the time. I’m still helping guys get ready for fights. I’m still running my gym. If they came and offered me something with ample time, I know I could get back in good shape really quick and I’d be good to go.”
Make no mistake, Lauzon loves fighting, but his priorities have changed and a thriving business outside UFC has kept him plenty busy these past few years. With plans to expand and open more gyms down the road, Lauzon proudly touts strong numbers at his flagship location, with 400 members currently taking various classes from Brazilian jiu-jitsu to kickboxing and even no-gi grappling.
Lauzon opening his gym several years ago was part of his long-term plan to always give himself options once fighting was over. Unlike many athletes who depend on UFC to provide a steady income, Lauzon preferred to use fighting as a means to maintain financial security while building a business that didn’t rely on him setting foot in a cage.
“From the very beginning, I had my first fight in the UFC and I thought that could have been it,” Lauzon said. “When I fought Jens Pulver, that could have been a one and done and we’re just over. I’ve been very fortunate that was never chasing the next fight to pay my bills. I have a computer science degree, so I was working at my co-op when I was getting ready for Jens Pulver for my first fight, and then I basically took a week off of work and I went and I fought, and I went back to work on Monday and I continued to work.
“Then I went on The Ultimate Fighter and I took a leave of absence for like two months and then I went back to work. So I always kind of had a little bit of a nest egg, an overflow a little bit of covering expenses, things like that. As I had all my different fights, I was kind of doing the same thing. I was always just building a reserve, keeping that reserve up, and then time goes on and it gets a little smaller, but then you fight again and it gets it back up.”
While Lauzon doesn’t have all the answers, the 43-fight veteran acknowledges that more athletes need to think about long-term planning, because competing in the UFC can’t last forever. He recognized that before his first fight in the UFC and Lauzon has been prepared for the inevitable end of his career ever since.
“I think a lot of fighters, they don’t start from that stronger position so they have to take this fight next month because they need to pay their bills,” Lauzon said. “They need to pay their expenses, they’ve got to pay stuff.
“I’ve always been ahead of the game a little bit, so I think just because I started in a better position, I was able to keep that going.”
