UFC 123 Live Blog: Joe Lauzon vs. George Sotiropoulos Updates

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- This is the UFC 123 live blog for Joe Lauzon vs. George Sotiropoulos, a lightweight bout on tonight's pay-per-view at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Joe Lauzon (19-5) ran through Gabe Ruediger August at UFC 118 and won submission of the night. George Sotiropoulos (13-2) has been on a tear, winning seven in a row, six of which were in the UFC.

The live blog is below.

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Round 1: Long walkouts and intros, and now we're set to go. Quick pace early as they exchange. Sotiropoulos looks a bit more crisp. Crowd is pro-Lauzon. Sotiropoulos drops low for a single leg but Lauzon defends. Lauzon lands a hard knee to the head. Lauzon lets a combo fly but Sotiropoulos slips all the punches. Sotiropoulos goes low for a takedown. Lauzon hammers him with elbows while stuffing the shot. They break and head back to the center of the cage. We're past the midway point now. Lauzon takes Sotiropoulos down. Sotiropoulos reverses, then Lauzon sweeps. By the way, Sotiropoulos has a sleeve on his left knee and right ankle. Sotiropoulos works to take Lauzon's back, then ends up in side control with :45 to go. Sotiropoulos lands a few elbows and looks for an arm bar. Lauzon pulls free and ends up on top, throwing a few elbows of his own as the round expires. A very close round, slight edge to Lauzon 10-9.

Round 2: Sotiropoulos goes for a single leg, then tries to pull guard but Lauzon stays on his feet. Sotiropoulos works him against the fence. Sotiropoulos working hard for the takedown. Lauzon employs the BJ Penn defense of hopping on one leg and displaying incredible balance. Sotiropoulos gets a clinch and lands a series of knees. After a scramble, Sotiropoulos ends up on top in north-south. Sotiropoulos goes for a kimura. Nope. Then an arm bar. Sotiropoulos is suddenly overwhelming him. Sotiropoulos gets the kimura again, this time Lauzon taps.

Winner: George Sotiropoulos via kimura submission, Rd. 2 (2:43)



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