The rough road to MMA stardom
Making it to the big leagues ain't easy, just ask the current cast from The Ultimate Fighter 8. Once you make it, the pressure to stay is even greater. No one wants to go back to making little money, opponent unpredictability and shoddy venues.
Mike Chiapetta at NBC did a nice job of tracking Dan Lauzon on his road to a recent fight.
Lauzon's name should sound familiar. His brother, Joe, was a cast member on TUF 5 and is already 4-1 in the UFC. Joe just picked up a win last Wednesday at Ultimate Fight Night 15. Dan is only 20 and looks to be on the edge of hooking on with a big promotion. He does have one fight in the UFC, a loss to Spencer Fisher. Dan (10-2) was recently screwed out of a big fight against former IFL lightweight champ Chris Horodecki on Affliction's second fight card. That Oct. 11 card was cancelled two weeks ago.
It's pretty clear from the video that the kid is wasting his time fighting in his home state. He destroys Brendan Hoxie, who dropped to 3-5. Hoxie tried to play some mind games with Lauzon before the fight with a cheesy greeting card. The Lauzons are no joke, just check out the look Joe gives the KO'd Hoxie as he walks into the ring.
