Joe Lauzon is never in a dull fight, and this one later tonight (Sat., Aug. 17, 2013) against Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night 26, is a good mixed martial arts (MMA) match up that will undoubtedly produce fireworks because "The Menace" is equally aggressive and assertive.
Johnson has the wrestling advantage, but Lauzon has a knack for exploiting openings on the feet and with submissions, consistently finding ways to turn the fight in his favor.
Lauzon's biggest chink in the armor is against a solid wrestler. And Johnson does have some good takedown ability, but his liability to submissions figures to mitigate greatly in any temptation to plant "J-Lau" on his back. Both men will have to work on the feet to score big, as neither is a one-shot knockout artist and both have decent chins and recuperative abilities.
Check out a complete breakdown of the UFC Fight Night 26 Lightweight main card match on FOX Sports 1 between Joe Lauzon vs. Michael Johnson below:
The Breakdown
Lauzon's been in a zillion bonus-winning bouts, and Johnson figures to win a more dry, tactical contest. For Johnson, falling into the trap of outpointing Lauzon might be a problem because the Boston-area native has a tendency to lull people and then explode. Lauzon's excellent Brazilian jiu-jitsu from the bottom is a great weapon to make people think twice about going there unless they're a super-power top-control specialist like Jim Miller, or elite jiu-jitsu type such as George Sotiropoulos. Johnson is neither, but he's a good athletic type with some power in his hands. And if he gets Lauzon on the mat, he'll have to score big keep him defensive.
The Pick
This one has slugfest written all over it, as both tend to jump on opponents early and like to dictate the pace instead of countering. Lauzon has faced and beaten better opposition than Johnson, who can be hot and cold at times, and given that, I'll take Lauzon's consistency. Look for some good exchanges early, with Johnson scoring some takedowns, but being largely unable to score effectively or win clear-cut rounds. In the third, Lauzon's conditioning and intensity will win the round big, as he hammers Johnson with strikes and scores takedowns en route to a close decision win.
Lauzon via unanimous decision
Jason Probst can be reached at twitter.com/jasonprobst