Lightweights
Joe Lauzon (27-15) vs. Jonathan Pearce (7-3)
Odds: Pearce (-125), Lauzon (+105)
Lauzon burst onto the scene with his 2006 knockout over Jens Pulver and has been a fan favorite ever since; "J-Lau" never got particularly close to a title shot, but his aggressive style and willingness to survive damage have made him one of the more underratedly great action fighters in the history of the sport. But things have turned badly for the Massachusetts native in recent years. After a run where Lauzon was at least hanging tough against his opposition, his 2017 fight against Stevie Ray seems to be where Lauzon dumped out the last of his dynamism. His next bout later in the year saw him get sparked out in a minute by late-career Clay Guida, and Lauzon looked ineffective in what figured to be a bounce-back fight against Chris Gruetzemacher before the bout was stopped in between rounds.
After a year and a half off, this return fight in Boston certainly feels like a retirement fight for Lauzon, and it'd certainly be a moment if Lauzon found a way to earn one last win. As for Pearce, the Contender Series alum and MMA Lab product is a perfectly fine fighter who has yet to develop any particular standout skills, but should be quick enough on the feet to get an easy win here. Lauzon's gas tank was never the best, but he's walking an even thinner line now that his reflexes have slowed, and if Guida can take Lauzon out as quickly as he did, Pearce is capable of scoring a similar sort of finish. The redeeming feature for Lauzon is that he should be the better grappler and could find a submission if this goes to the ground, but it's more likely that any moment where Lauzon finds himself on the mat means that the fight is over. The pick is Pearce via first-round knockout.
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