Joe Lauzon out at least 12 months because of knee surgery

by MMAmania.com on Feb 26, 2009 10:36 PM EST

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight contender Joe Lauzon will undergo season-ending knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus, which will keep The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 alum on the sidelines for the remainder of 2009.

Here's a snip from his Web site:

"The surgery scheduled for next week will not be so simple. Unlike the last two times, I will need my meniscus repaired. Instead of just shaving that little piece out, they will be stitching it up and getting it to sit back in place. To make things much worse, I need to have my ACL repaired as well. They think my torn ACL is causing my knee to shift ever so slightly and its destroying my meniscus.... Long story short … I will be off my feet for a month to a month and a half… training SUPER light in about 4 or 5 months … training decently hard in about 9 months and fighting in around 12-14 months. It's going to be a long rehab … but that's how it goes."

Lauzon most recently saw action against Jeremy Stephens in the UFC Fight Night 17 main event in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 14. He took out "Lil' Heathen" with a second round armbar to notch his second straight win inside the Octagon.

Prior to the back-to-back victories, Lauzon was one of the many recent victims of Kenny Florian courtesy of a second round technical knockout loss at UFC Fight Night 13 back in April. It was a temporary setback for the Boston-area native and he appeared to be climbing his way back toward the top of the division before this latest news.

"J-Lau" was the favorite to win The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 season before meeting up with Manny Gamburyan in the semifinals. He has five wins in six attempts inside the Octagon.

There were seemingly several possible opponents for Lauzon this year, including Hermes Franca, Spencer Fisher and Nate Diaz, among others. Those match ups will now have to simmer until Lauzon is healed up and ready to return.

Hopefully, it's sooner rather than later.

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Comments

tough break… hope he has budgeted himself out for something like this

by sac165 on Feb 26, 2009 10:37 PM EST reply actions

The hermes fight needs to happen. Too much bs between the two and their camps.

by NameNotRequired on Feb 26, 2009 10:39 PM EST up reply actions

Yea that is what i was thinking, 12 months off in this economy is a tough break for real!

I’m sure Penn would throw some cheese his way if things got bad in the later months!

by SoCalStunNa on Feb 26, 2009 11:26 PM EST up reply actions

Joe “the Mouth” Lauzon

by RedDog on Feb 27, 2009 2:37 AM EST up reply actions

wonder if he has some whine with that cheese? =p

by dayzah on Feb 27, 2009 3:39 AM EST up reply actions

wow this is bad …. i was starting to think was breaking into the top of the LW division…. this injury came at a bad time

by ufcaddict on Feb 27, 2009 8:08 AM EST up reply actions

Definately bad news. I really like Joe and his skillset. Its just a shame this happens as he’s starting to get focused to take it to the top.

Hopefully he will still be able to focus after his recovery and come back even stronger.

Ive always wondered what would have happened if he had beaten Kenny then would have to fight BJ. I suppose now that he will have a 12 month layoff and work his way up to a title show it is likely BJ will have retired by then anyway.

by Ca$z on Feb 27, 2009 9:04 AM EST up reply actions

Karma…He ran his yap way too much in the last couple months. Showed no respect for his opponents, and let his head get real big. Happy rehabbing Joe.

by FukStyck on Feb 27, 2009 9:06 AM EST up reply actions

what a shame. Lauzon was poised for a break out year. Hope he can eventually return to his pre injury form. Big fan of the Creepy one!

I really wanted to see Lauzon fight either Danzig, Huerta or Diaz….No chance in that happening now

by john on Feb 27, 2009 10:12 AM EST up reply actions

It’s cheese with that whine you tool. You got it backwards. And he can always go back to doing his IT thing for a while if needs some cash. Unlike me, he was smart enough to choose a useful and marketable college major.

by PW on Feb 27, 2009 10:32 AM EST up reply actions

he will always be a ufn main event..

by Mikeybear2009 on Feb 27, 2009 1:37 AM EST up reply actions

Yeah, too bad! J-Lau also looks spooky in the pic.

by Syd[a.k.a."the Negation"] on Feb 27, 2009 12:08 AM EST up reply actions

In which pic does joe not look spooky?? lol

by mike22 on Feb 27, 2009 12:57 AM EST up reply actions

That’s why they call him “CREEPY JOE”

by DAVE A on Feb 27, 2009 3:23 AM EST up reply actions

think about what they make per fight though, 25-45000$ thats probably the average for america right now.. that doesnt include sponsors pay,any bonuses hes gotten or anything extra

by randy murders on Feb 27, 2009 12:14 AM EST up reply actions

i meant to say average yearly income for america, and he has a lot of help if he needs it im sure the UFC is going to make sure he has a good healthy recovery they have used him in 2 big main events on spike tv

by randy murders on Feb 27, 2009 12:22 AM EST up reply actions

This is the part of fighting that really sucks.

by subwayy2sallyy on Feb 26, 2009 10:41 PM EST reply actions

Looks like Joe is doing a “Horton Hears a Who” impersonation.

by El Mexicutioner, formerly The Mexicutioner on Feb 26, 2009 10:48 PM EST reply actions

is it just me or is his ear almost as big as his hand?

by Egads on Feb 26, 2009 10:49 PM EST reply actions

My question is why is this picture posted???

by DAVE A on Feb 27, 2009 3:24 AM EST up reply actions

damn I wanted to see him fight the dentist. now it won’t happen in a long time

by TRIKZ on Feb 26, 2009 10:55 PM EST reply actions

poor guy- hope he makes a speedy recovery. it’ll be nice to see him up against Neer or even spencer fisher-

by ricky on Feb 26, 2009 11:28 PM EST reply actions

Those are good too, but i wanted to see Lauzon vs Diego

by SoCalStunNa on Feb 27, 2009 12:00 AM EST up reply actions

Dude looks like Michael Scofield.

by Jrandolph on Feb 27, 2009 12:10 AM EST reply actions

I’ve ALWAYS had the same thought since the first time I saw him against Pulver!!

by kdawg on Feb 27, 2009 2:00 AM EST up reply actions

That really sucks. I still remember when he’d post his amateur fight videos on Bullshido. Too bad creepy stalker nerd won’t be fighting soon. . .hope he recovers quickly.

by teaburger on Feb 27, 2009 1:45 AM EST reply actions

Who cares, Ufc 99 Wanderlei Silva vs Rich Franklin should be a good one

by Thebending on Feb 27, 2009 4:58 AM EST reply actions

Maybe he should take steroids or some other banned substance like our good old MLB players and be back in 6 months (sarcasm). Best wishes Joe. Knee surgery sucks

by RiverHorror on Feb 27, 2009 5:44 AM EST reply actions

This guy doesnt just have big ears, he has a big mouth aswell, i really don’t like him after the latest trashtalking and couldnt careless if hes out 12months.

by Lester the Pimp on Feb 27, 2009 8:42 AM EST reply actions

Too bad. The Stephens fight was a great demonstration of this kid’s skills. Keeps getting better. Was looking forward to the Franca fight.

by Boom Goes the Dynamite! on Feb 27, 2009 9:05 AM EST reply actions

hopefully sooner than later is right – I like this kid – he had legit complaints against Ken FLo not like blow job penn

by rusty springs on Feb 27, 2009 11:46 AM EST reply actions

I am worried about JoLo because when he gets back he could have to trian for a possible Diego fight. Diego would walk through JoLo! Hate to see that because I like his style. Good luck JoLo.

by mmadude on Feb 27, 2009 1:59 PM EST reply actions