UFC on ESPN 6 results: Joe Lauzon smashes Jonathan Pearce in emotional hometown win in Boston

Joe Lauzon will remember this one.

In front of a raucous audience at the TD Garden Arena just 30 minutes away from his home gym, the Massachusetts’ native put Jonathan Pearce away with a punishing TKO at just 1:33 into the opening round while getting his first win since 2017.

“This is my house. This is my cage. I was not going to let anyone push me around,” Lauzon said following the statement victory.

Despite giving up some height and reach, Lauzon showed no fear trading punches with Pearce on the feet as the fighters were immediately launching bombs at each other.

The difference came when Lauzon was able to slip inside and he connected with a devastating right hand that put Pearce on rubber legs as the 15-time post fight bonus winner swarmed on him looking for the takedown.

Lauzon ended up in the body lock before dragging Pearce to the mat and he immediately began advancing his position looking to take the back.

Instead of going for one of his patented submissions, Lauzon trapped one of Pearce’s arms behind his head and began unloading with a series of punishing strikes. Each punch that landed saw Pearce’s face start to swell up and that forced the referee took a close look at how much longer he would allow the fight to go.

The end came just seconds later as Lauzon just continued to blast away with punches on a defenseless Pearce and as soon as the fight was stopped, the Boston faithful let out a mighty roar to celebrate their home state hero.

Following three straight losses, Lauzon admitted that he wasn’t certain what the future would hold for him after Friday night but returning to the win column in such emphatic fashion almost brought tears to his eyes.

“Super emotional,” Lauzon said. “My last fight was a year and a half ago. Maybe it’s the last one, maybe it’s not. I have no idea. I’m going to go home and be really happy and just play with my kids.”

Lauzon clearly wasn’t ready to make any decisions about fighting again or not but if this is ultimately his final appearance inside the Octagon, it’s hard to imagine a better ending.