Lauzon brothers show fighting spirit in defeat

"Any two of them at a time against a third," Debbie Lauzon said. "They still get into it."

The Ultimate Fighting Championship reached its 108th show Saturday night at the MGM Grand, so producing new historical milestones is tougher than perhaps five years ago.

But this was the first time brothers shared spots on the same card, the first time siblings who train together, push each other, motivate each other, fight each other so fiercely that others feel compelled to step in, shared a locker room to prepare for UFC fights.

It didn’t go well for either.

Joe Lauzon returned from knee surgery in March to lose the night’s best fight, a three-round unanimous decision to Sam Stout. The fight earned two standing ovations, but wasn’t close after the first few minutes. Championship conditioning and ACL injuries don’t usually mix well and you could tell Lauzon became more gassed as the fight wore on.

Things happened quicker for Dan Lauzon earlier in the evening, a loss at 3:05 of the first round when Cole Miller produced a Kimura from an inverse triangle, which didn’t look as dangerous as it sounds, although I am told it can lull you to sleep, so I might try it on the 11-year-old when he’s having one of those restless evenings at home.

The Lauzon brothers fight as lightweights out of East Bridgewater, Mass., Boston sports fans all the way down to their Red Sox and Patriots merchandise, their UFC careers today still on different sides of the Octagon.

Joe is 25 and for years has awaited a chance to fight for the title, his name immediately known when his debut ended in an upset victory over former champion Jens Pulver at UFC 63.

That wait grows longer today.

Things have gone slower for younger brother Dan, who in 2006 became the youngest fighter in UFC history at 18 years and seven months, but who until Saturday night had not returned to a card at the sport’s highest level.

I grew up in a home of three older sisters, which means I didn’t know until departing for college there was such a thing as talking in a low voice. But my sister-in-law raised three boys within three years of each other, meaning her issues dealt more with broken glass and bloody lips.

They scuffled around the Lauzon house as well. The middle brother is Stephen, who even at 125 pounds doesn’t lack for spirit. He chose horseback riding over fighting, but hasn’t yet been impressed enough with his brothers’ UFC lives to back down when one or both want to go at it.

"They always respected me, even as they got bigger, so they would stop if I stepped in," said Joe Lauzon Sr., who along with wife Debbie and other family and friends watched at the MGM on Saturday. "For a while there, I had them scared. They’re not scared anymore."

It is still surreal for Joe and Debbie, still something neither would have forecast in a million years, sitting and watching their sons chase dreams in the world of mixed martial arts.

Joe Jr. went to college and earned a degree in computer networking; Dan began training as a freshman in high school when big brother took an interest in MMA.

They grew up loving pro wrestling and followed characters like Doink the Clown. With a name like that, I can’t believe Doink was very good at the Kimura thing.

"We thought the wrestlers were badasses and stars, but then we got older and realized that stuff was fake and this is real," Dan said. "We went after each other all the time, but have settled down a bit. We still scrap, though."

They probably won’t face each other in the UFC. There would be no point given the resumes today. Their parents wouldn’t attend if they did, wouldn’t watch, wouldn’t want it to happen.

"When they are training, they go at it harder against each other than anyone else, especially if they have fights coming up," Debbie said. "But I wouldn’t care if it was for a (UFC title). I wouldn’t watch."

She did Saturday night. So did Joe Sr. Two of their sons made history, but their dreams took a few shots with losses.

One brother got caught and the other got tired.

Hey, it happens.

It’s not as if they were fighting Doink the Clown.

Whoever that is.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He also can be heard weeknights from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. on "The Sports Scribes" on KDWN (720 AM) and www.kdwn.com.