Dan Lauzon was once considered a mixed martial arts prodigy. At 18 years, six months and 14 days old, he became the youngest fighter ever to compete in the UFC. He seemed to have the world in his hands.Now, however, his MMA career has fallen into chaos.
In a recent interview with The Boston Herald, Lauzon revealed that his brother -- fellow UFC fighter Joe Lauzon -- as well as his usual cornermen Joe Pomfret and Steve Maze, are no longer working with him and have refused to corner him in his upcoming UFC 114 fight against Efrain Escudero.
"They're not going to be there to support me," he told the paper. "It (stinks). I don't really know what I did to deserve this. I wouldn't do that to anybody. I wouldn't do that to my brother, I wouldn't do that to anyone in my gym. It's not right."
While Dan Lauzon says that his training was going well up until the trio essentially cut ties with him, that group disagrees.
Writing on his blog, Joe Lauzon said it was a pattern of irresponsible, unfocused training that led to the split.
"When Dan was 14 to 17, he trained like a mad man. He was in the gym all the time, but he is 22 now and that fire he once had is long gone. When he is in the gym, he comes in and works hard. He does a great job helping guys with technical things and teaching more subtle things as well. Unfortunately, he is never in the gym. If he has a fight, he is in sparingly. If he doesn't have a fight he is an absolute ghost."
Joe Lauzon said that after questioning his brother about his work ethic and training schedule, he and the other two trainers essentially gave Dan an ultimatum requiring that he follow the schedule laid out for him, otherwise they would not corner him for his fight.
Joe wrote that while Dan upped his training a little, it still fell far short of where it needed to be.
"It's not fair that we all make time for him in Vegas when he can't do his job beforehand and train," Joe Lauzon wrote.
Joe Lauzon said he wrote his side of the story on his blog only after Dan spoke with the media, adding that he was "a little relieved" that he'd no longer have to lie when people asked how his brother's training was going.
With little time left in his camp, Dan Lauzon has reportedly continued his training at Lauzon MMA (which is owned by Joe), but not under his brother's eye. He said after this fight, he will likely move on. Adding to the pressure, Dan (12-3) is coming off a loss to Cole Miller, and a second straight loss would likely put him in danger of being cut.
"I was completely hurt by it, especially my brother Joe," Dan said. "I don't think anybody would ever do that to their brother. I can't think of anyone else that would ever do that to their brother and just tell them, 'Hey, you're on your own.'"
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