The Blood and Guts Ballad of Lauzon vs. Miller

The pay-per-view portion of UFC 155 got off to a boring start with three fights that were anything but exciting. Then, the evening’s co-main event began, and fans saw the beginning of what would be, as the elders say, one for the ages.

Fights like Jim Miller vs. Joe Lauzon remind me why I’m an MMA fan. A good fight is fun, but it’s those special encounters that produce the type of story you will be telling your grandchildren about.

Round 1: Jim Miller used his aggression to trap Joe Lauzon in a storm of straight punches and powerful inside leg kicks that brought him to his knees. Lauzon covers up, but it does no good, as he is blitzed with an elbow that opens up a cut above his right eye, turning him into a bloody mess.

Round 2: Lauzon gets caught in a D’Arce choke, cutting off oxygen to his brain and causing more blood to spill out, like in a horror movie. Lauzon’s once-white shorts are now drenched in red, and the crimson mask covers his face. Lauzon showed tremendous heart, but the general consensus is that he’s done.

However, someone forgot to tell Lauzon as he reversed Miller to gain top control. Miller used a rubber guard to stop Lauzon from gaining momentum, and he was picked up and slammed for his troubles. Miller got caught in a kneebar, and with the fight slipping from his grasp, he fought his way out of the hold as the round expired.

With the first round unquestionably for Miller and a second round that could have been scored for either fighter, we have ourselves a do-or-die third round. Lauzon is back in the game, but Miller won’t be denied.

Round 3: Miller looked to be running out of gas, but he is the last person on the planet who doesn’t want all his hard work to be for nothing. With even more blood pouring out of his cut, Lauzon hurt Miller with a knee to the body and followed up with a solid left hand. Lauzon got the clinch, and he and Miller traded punches like their lives depended on it.

Lauzon looked like the fresher fighter as the Las Vegas crowd chanted the Massachusetts native’s name. Thirty seconds left in the fight, and Lauzon demonstrated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s beauty with a drop-down scissors kneebar. Miller escapes and immediately gets caught in a guillotine choke with seconds left. The horn sounds. The fight is over. Miller survives as he spits out his mouthpiece and yells, “Thank God.”

Miller won the first round, and Lauzon won the third round, which means it all comes down to who won the second round. Miller controlled the action, but Lauzon might have done more overall damage. Everyone loves a comeback story, and Lauzon just might deliver.

However, I scored it for Miller, and so did the judges.

This is one of those fights that will beg the question of where you were the night Joe Lauzon fought Jim Miller. I was at Buffalo Wild Wings watching with good friends and some of Massachusetts’ MMA faithful as we all experienced a whirlwind of emotions.

Joe Lauzon has a big following in the Boston area, but loud cheers turned to a deafening silence when he was bloodied up in the first round. Lauzon’s reputation for waning durability had us concerned. No one would say it, but “our guy” was in trouble.

Jim Miller deserves all the credit in the world. However, results sometimes get dwarfed by the enormity of the moment. Jim Miller won, both earned an extra $65,000 for Fight of the Night, and Joe Lauzon captured the hearts of MMA fans everywhere.