UFC 223: Joe Lauzon returns, fights Chris Gruetzemacher on April 7

Down? Maybe. Out? Not by a long shot.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight veteran Joe Lauzon will make his Octagon return against Chris Gruetzemacher at the upcoming UFC 223 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Sat., April 7, 2018, inside Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

That’s according to a report from Newsday.

It’s been a tough couple of years for Lauzon (27-14), who made a name for himself alongside Nate Diaz on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5. “J-Lau” is coming off consecutive losses to Steven Ray and Clay Guida and hasn’t won back-to-back fights in over three years.

Not that it’s been all wine and roses for Gruetzemacher (13-3), also a product of TUF combat sports reality show. After coming up big in the 2015 live finale, “Gritz” was subsequently submitted by Chas Skelly and Davi Ramos.

UFC 223 will be headlined by the lightweight title fight pitting Tony Ferguson opposite Khabib Nurmagomedov. Elsewhere on the card, Rose Namajunas defends her 115-pound strap opposite Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Check out the current UFC 223 fight card and line up here.