Lauzon looking at next fight on his turf

I wish I can blog in this space more often. Alas, it's Yankees season and I've put up plenty of commentary here. Of course there's been plenty of MMA work on my plate. No offseason in that sport and it seems like there's been a show every week. Tomorrow night is Strikeforce on CBS with the WEC's premiere pay-per-view a week later.

I chatted with Joe Lauzon earlier and he's looking at his next fight coming in August before his hometown fans in Boston when the UFC makes its debut in Beantown for UFC 118. Health permitting, Frankie Edgar-B.J. Penn II and Kenny Florian-Gray Maynard could co-headline the show. Lauzon, who lost a unanimous decision to Sam Stout in February, stated his preference to compete in Boston and it's looking like he'll get that chance.

"They're saying it's going to happen, so we'll see," Lauzon said. "The UFC is meeting with the commission and all that stuff to make it all happen. It's looking like something's going to happen for August."

A lot of variables will determine his opponent Lauzon split his last two bouts, submitting Jeremy Stephens before falling short versus Stout in what was the Fight of the Night. Stephens and Stout are fighting May 8 at UFC 113 in Montreal. Could a rematch with the Hands of Stone be in the cards? Lauzon had Stout in trouble in the first round before Stout's striking dictated the rest of the fight. Furthermore, ACL surgery kept Lauzon out of action for 11 months. By August he'll be back at peak strength and a rematch on his turf may end up breeding a different result.

I would love to get that one," Lauzon said. "I look at Jeremy Stephens is a more dangerous fighter. Sam is a more polished guy. It'll be interesting to see how that goes. If Sam doesn't get by Jeremy we'll both be coming off a loss so I'm all for doing that again."

Also in Montreal, besides the light-heavyweight title rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua, is a compelling welterweight battle between Josh Koscheck and Paul Daley that may determine Georges St. Pierre's next challenge. My feature on Semtex is in the new edition of TapouT Magazine, Issue 36, Page 86.

MMA fans were disappointed with UFC 112 thanks to Anderson Silva's embarrassing antics, and it's a shame because Silva's decision to act like a clown and make a mockery of the sport overshadowed Edgar's stunning upset of the once invincible Prodigy. Dana White was rightfully pissed off, and to be fair 112 is likely just an aberration, but the door is open for Strikeforce to prove they're serious about competing against the Zuffa monolith. Tomorrow night on CBS is a great, great lineup featuring three title fights, including what may end up to be Jake Shields' final fight with the organization.

Shields' Strikeforce contract expires after Saturday and White has made it clear he will make a play for the stud who's won his last 13 bouts. If he wins Strikeforce will have no choice but to hand him an open check, but will money's pull be stronger than the opportunity to face GSP or the Spider? Of course, Silva will have to cut the crap in addition to defeating Chael Sonnen at UFC 117. White has threatened to cut Silva from the company if he pulls another stunt like he did in Abu Dhabi.

RIP Bob Shamrock, '10's top contenders, Almeida feeling great

Another week nearly in the books and it's actually been (kind of) light in the MMA world. There's actually a break between shows that started after Monday's UFC Fight Night and will end January 30 with Strikeforce Miami. Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis for the vacant welterweight title, and Cris Cyborg vs. Marloes Coenen in Cyborg's first defense of the women's crown headline a show that also features the Strikeforce debut of Bobby Lashley and the MMA premiere of Herschel Walker. Appearing on the preliminary card is fellow Long Islander Jay Hieron (Freeport) against veteran Joe Riggs.

Sad news hit the MMA world late yesterday with the passing of Bob Shamrock, the adopted father of MMA legends Frank and Ken Shamrock, at the age of 68 due following a long-term battle with various health complications due to diabetes. Bob's impact on the brothers was amazing. He kept the boys out of trouble by turning them to sports and resort to fist fight - provided he supervised it - to settle their differences. Frank & Ken grew up to be fighting champions, and are forever legendary and among the best we'll ever see.

I penned a piece for FightMagazine.com that went up today, which looks ahead at the top contenders in each of the UFC's weight classes in 2010. Lots changed since I filed the original draft earlier in the week. Frankie Edgar is next for B.J. Penn, while Nate Marquardt will secure his middleweight title shot against the winner of champion Anderson Silva vs. Victor Belfort - if Nate the Great gets past Chael Sonnen at UFC 109 in a few weeks.

That night I'm looking forward to also watching two of my favorite fighters and people in the game, Matt Serra and Frank Trigg, oppose one another. Then there's the main even featuring two active legends, Randy Couture and Mark Coleman. The Natural struggled in defeating Brandon Vera, but put together a classic with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira back in August. When two old, great warriors collide, you usually see something special, and that's what I'm expecting from Couture and Coleman. Heck if Couture wins he may get one last shot becoming a two-time UFC light-heavyweight champion.

Get psyched, Jersey. The UFC's return to the Garden State (UFC 111 in Newark on March 27) is loaded. The top three bouts are Georges St. Pierre-Dan Hardy, Shane Carwin-Frank Mir and Thiago Alves-Jon Fitch. It's also loaded with Jersey boys Ricardo Almeida, Jim Miller and Kurt Pellegrino. I spoke with one of Almeida's coaches this week. He told me Big Dog, 3-1 since returning to the UFC (and that defeat was to Patrick Cote via split decision), is "feeling great" and in awesome shape having worked his way back from a knee injury that prevented him from competing at UFC 106. MMA becoming legalized in New York State is looking inevitable with Gov. David Patterson publicly endorsing the sport. This card is a hell of a way to seal the deal, or if it's done by then allow lawmakers with open minds to tell themselves, "I made the right decision."

Joe Lauzon, off a crushing loss to Sam Stout earlier this month, said in a release that he hopes his next fight will be in his backyard when the UFC makes its Boston debut this August. Lauzon had Stout in trouble early, but failed to finish him and was pummeled by the Canadien in dropping a unanimous decision, but that was his first fight in 10 months after having knee surgery to repair his ACL. Lauzon gutting out the best performance of Stout's career to date earned them Fight of the Night honors.

“I’m obviously disappointed in the result,” Lauzon said. “It was an entertaining fight, but that’s not what I want to be known for. I focused on the health of my knee and it held up. I didn’t concentrate on my overall condition and I was a little rusty. I trained like a maniac six days of the week, twice a day, and then I couldn’t do too much for six months.”

Thanks to everyone for reading and following me on Twitter. I'm still penning my takes on the Yankees and Rangers, and have a story on the boxing/MMA relationship out in this month's edition of TapouT magazine (Issue 34). Though we're still months away, I'm gearing up for working UFC 111 on site at the Prudential Center. Expect a lot more stuff happening until then.

Strikers, new names reign at 108

The next issue of TapouT (No. 34) has a feature I wrote on the budding working relationship between MMA and boxing and how more fighters have implemented the time-honored techniques of "The Sweet Science" into their training regimens. Boxing in the cold gyms of Portland, Maine, built the foundation for Mike Thomas Brown's career. An opportunity to train with Miguel Cotto helped recalibrate Miguel Torres coming off a shocking loss of his WEC Bantamweight title.

The great Howard Davis Jr. is a boxing coach at the renowned American Top Team and works with Brown, Thiago Alves, Kimbo Slice and many others including Chuck Liddell trained with Davis to add new wrinkles to their game. The best wrestlers can neutralize anybody's game like Rashad Evans did in his win over ATT product Thiago Sliva Saturday night at UFC 108, but if one's striking isn't beyond par, chances are it's curtains before it gets that far. (Ask Damien Maia if he remembers what hit him in his ill-fated contest with Nate Marquardt.)

“I always say 85 percent on the ground, but when the bell rings you’re 100 percent up,” Davis told me for the story. “If you don’t have your skills in the first 30 seconds to a minute, you’re going to have problems.”

Joe Lauzon is razor-sharp on the ground, but Sam Stout combined takedown defense with precision striking and Muay Thai that diced J-Lau for three rounds, by far the finest performance of the Canadian's career. Especially impressive was how Stout was popped and bloodied early in the fight and nearly tapped out to a kimura. Once the bout was back on the feet, Stout took a game Lauzon apart to win 30-27 on all three scorecards.

Dustin Hazelett, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, was a late replacement for Carlos Condit and matched with striker Paul Daley. Adhering to Davis' words, Hazelett began the fight standing with the powerful Brit and held his own until a vicious left hook put McLovin to sleep at 2:24 of Round 1. I'd love to see if Daley can keep a Josh Koscheck at a vertical base. Daley's takedown defense needs work and if he can't prevent Koscheck from taking him to the ground, the former NCAA Division I wrestling champion will provide the same education he gave Anthony Johnson.

UFC 108 was maligned for the 'injury curse' that robbed it of its star power. Brock Lesnar-Shane Carwin, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira-Cain Velazquez and Anderson Silva-Victor Belfort were all pulled from the event, along with Gabriel Gonzaga, Condit, Tyson Griffin and Rory Markham, for reasons beyond anyone's control. In adversity there's often strength and adversity also opens doors for new names to break down walls. Stout, Daley, Junior dos Santos, Jim and Cole Miller, and Mark Munoz were provided opportunities to shine and they all did. The lower the expectations, the greater the chance that one is surprised and UFC 108 certainly delivered an exciting event.

This is my first blog of 2010 and I'd be remiss if I didn't extend my heartfelt congratulations to MMAJunkie.com (best MMA media source) and lead reporter John Morgan (best MMA journalist) for taking home hardware at the MMA Awards. Lead site editor Dann Stupp gave me the first opportunity to cover MMA and has made me a part of the team, a great team that produces great work. Don't expect us to slow down. Between John racking up world traveler miles and the evolution of George Garcia's entertaining MMA Junkie Radio program, 2010 will be our finest year yet.

Quick hits

Forgot to mention this earlier: Hermes Franca is having knee surgery February 23 in Miami, performed by Dr. John Uribe at the Sports Medicine Institute. Once we get on the horn we'll see how that went am I'm interested in hearing how he thinks Jeremy Stephens will respond from his submission loss to Joe Lauzon on February 7. It's a quick turnaround for "Lil Heathen" as he takes on TUF Season 8 winner Efrain Escudero April 1.

Alex Rodriguez's press conference is today at 1:30. Joy. The sooner this nonsense is put behind everyone, the better. But A-Rod needs to take that next big step, not play the game of hop scotch he did with Peter Gammons.