Brick City Boxing

E. BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (January 30, 2009) – UFC lightweight sensation Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon held an open media workout yesterday afternoon at his gym, Lauzon Mixed Martial Arts in Bridgewater (MA), in preparation for his main event fight February 7 on “UFC Fight Night 17,” broadcast live on Spike TV from the Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida.

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Lauzon (17-4, 5 KOs, 12 submissions), star of The Ultimate Fighter 5 television reality show, learned only one day earlier (Wednesday) that Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens (14-3, 10 KOs, 2 submissions) had replaced Joe’s original opponent, Hermes Franca (20-7), who suffered a knee injury (torn ACL) in training camp.

“On our feet,” Lauzon said, “it’s the same fight. Stephens is a brawler but, once it hits the ground, it’s going to be an entirely different fight. Hermes is a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu; Stephens isn’t as good as him on the ground. He’s going to come out and try to knock me out. He doesn’t want to fight me on the ground. Hermes was a bigger fight but this is a little easier fight for me.

“I was training since early December for Franca. Someday we will fight, especially after what he’s been saying about me being lucky I’m not fighting him. The change of opponents could have been a problem if the replacement had an entirely different style. Stephens may have quicker hands and he’s tough, but it’ll be a similar fight. It’s going to be a great fight and there’s nothing like headlining a UFC show.”

For more information about Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon, who has a Bachelor’s degree in computer networking from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, go online and visit www.joelauzon.com or myspace.com/lauzonrsd.