Former Ultimate Fighter winner Efrain Escudero got back on track but didn't look great on Saturday night, defeating Dan Lauzon by unanimous decision in a relatively uninteresting fight at UFC 114.Escudero was getting the better of most of the exchanges in the first round, although Lauzon did land a punch that opened a cut over Escudero's left eye. Early in the second Escudero landed a barrage of punches and then several knees while controlling Lauzon in the clinch, but when Lauzon didn't go down, Escudero eventually let up to avoid running out of gas. Escudero decisively won the second round, but he didn't capitalize on the opportunities he had to really hurt Lauzon and possibly finish him.
The third round slowed down, as both fighters appeared tired, and Lauzon especially looked like he was content to just wait out the final five minutes. The crowd started booing in the final minute of a fight that was generally pretty dull, but things got intriguing with just seconds to go, when Escudero accidentally kicked Lauzon in the groin, leading to the referee taking a point away. After that, Escudero and Lauzon started swinging wildly at each other for the final seconds of the fight.
All three judges scored all three rounds for Escudero, but with the point deduction he won 29-27 on all three cards. Escudero was coming off the first loss of his career, to Evan Dunham in January, and now he's back in the W column, but he didn't look great doing it.
Lauzon had a public falling out with his brother and fellow UFC fighter Joe Lauzon during training camp, as Joe didn't think Dan was working hard enough. That brotherly spat tarnished Dan's reputation in the MMA community, and Lauzon -- who has now lost twice this year, having previously fallen to Cole Miller in January -- may be in danger of losing his job in the UFC. He's only 22 years old and still has plenty of opportunities to turn his career around, but Lauzon showed on Saturday night that he needs to get better.
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