UFC 123 preview: George Sotiropoulos vs Joe Lauzon
At UFC 123, two lightweights will square off in a bout that won’t give either one of them a title shot, but will boost them very close to the belt as 155lb rising stars Joe Lauzon and George Sotiropoulos
square off.
History
These are two fighters that are widely seen as rising contenders in the UFC lightweight division. Lauzon is 19-5 overall, and part of the reason he’s seen as having such potential is that he’s only 26 years
old, has a wealth of experience, and more importantly has made steady improvements in all aspects of his game.
In the beginning he was virtually a pure submission artist (his first eight wins came that way) but increasingly he’s developed his wrestling and his striking. Entering the UFC at 13-3, he put the division
on notice by knocking out former champion Jens Pulver in 47 seconds when he’d come in as a huge underdog.
In total he’s gone 6-2 in the UFC, with his subsequent wins having come mostly over the lesser fighters in the promotion, although he does have a significant win over Jeremy Stephens and a spirited loss to
Kenny Florian. He’s recently come off an impressive destruction of Gabe Ruediger. None of his victims have gone the distance.
Sotiropoulos is also seen as a future potential titleholder, but unlike Lauzon, he’s 33 and doesn’t have many years left in his prime. But no one’s figured out how to stop him yet. He’s 13-2, with one loss
coming as a split decision in his fourth professional fight, and the other a disqualification due to an inadvertent groin strike. Since joining the UFC he’s a perfect 6-0 with three submission wins.
While Sotiropoulos is capable with his hands as well, it’s his grappling that really stands out. His Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is outstanding, to the point he’s able to utterly dominate opponents on the ground.
He’s beaten two very skilled grapplers in a row, with Kurt Pellegrino and Joe Stevenson both falling victim to him by unanimous decision.
Style breakdown, odds and prediction
This bout should be one of the best fights of the night, as both of these men are exciting fighters, with both of them having earned Fight of the Night bonuses in the past.
In this fight Lauzon’s best chance might be to remain standing and try to scrap it out with Sotiropoulos on the feet. Lauzon’s an incredibly high-energy, scrappy fighter, and turning it into a standing brawl
could give him a very good chance. Sotiropoulos has good technical boxing as well.
Sotiropoulos should have the advantage on the ground. Both men are very good at sinking in submissions, but the Australian is better at using positional control to dominate an opponent on the way to victory.
In short, Sotiropoulos should hold technical advantages in both boxing and grappling, but Lauzon has enough energy and intensity to give him a chance in any bout.
Sotiropoulos is coming into the bout as a 4/9 favourite, while Lauzon is a 2/1 underdog.
Look for Sotiropoulos to win this fight by unanimous decision.
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