Top prospects Joe Lauzon (21-6) and Anthony Pettis (12-2) have agreed to fight one another and the bout holds major implications on the Lightweight devision.
Massachusetts' own Joe Lauzon is coming off one of the biggest wins of his MMA career when he recently derailed the smoking hot Melvin Guillard in .47 seconds at UFC 136, derailing Guillard's title aspirations.
Lauzon looked sharped as he clipped and knocked Guillard down before jumping on his back and submitting him via rear naked choke. One of the most exciting talents in the UFC, Lauzon has competed 11 times inside the Octagon and has walked away with some type of bonus nine times, five times earning submission of the night honors.
Pettis on the other hand is another top talent and was the last man to hold the WEC Lightweight title by defeating UFC Lightweight number one contender Benson Henderson in the last ever WEC event becoming famous in the process for the “Showtime Kick.”
In a very close fight, Pettis secured his victory over Henderson in the fifth and final round when Pettis jumped and kicked off the cage, kicking Henderson in the face with the same foot and knocking Henderson down. The kick became an instant overnight phenomenon and is considered by many to be the greatest move in MMA history.
With the Henderson win, Pettis was supposed to fight Frankie Edgar for the Lightweight Championship but after Edgar and Maynard fought to a draw, Pettis decided to surrender his title shot in order to compete instead of waiting for Edgar and Maynard to fight again. Pettis ended up fighting Clay Guida, and Guida used his superior wrestling to dominate Pettis thus earning himself a one-sided unanimous decision and knocking Pettis back down to the bottom of the line for a Lightweight title shot.
After the Guida fight, Pettis was matched up against Jeremy Stephens and showed considerable improvement in his wrestling dragging Stephens down to the mat and earning himself a split decision victory also back at UFC 136.
The matchup between Lauzon and Pettis has fireworks written all over it and was a fantastic addition to a rapidly filling and exciting card. The winner will likely cement himself one win away from a title shot in a crowded devision, so this fight has major importance attached to it. In addition, both fighters are explosive young athletes who always come to fight and this fight has my vote to be fight of the night.
Also announced for the card was a Middleweight fight between former title challenger and top three ranked Yushin Okami against the surging Tim Boetsch who is undefeated since dropping down to Middleweight.
Rumored UFC in Japan card:
Frankie Edgar vs Benson Henderson for the UFC Lightweight Championship
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
Quinton Jackson vs. TBA
Yushin Okami vs Tim Boetsch
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