Three days after it was scrapped from UFC 274, Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon is back on the promotion’s schedule.
At the upcoming UFC Fight Night event June 18 in Austin, Texas, Cerrone (36-16-1 MMA, 29-16-1 UFC) and Lauzon (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) will square off, barring any unforeseen circumstances. The card takes place at Moody Center with the main card airing on ESPN2 after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the rebooking Tuesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. ESPN was first to report the news.
The bout originally was scheduled for UFC 274 this past Saturday but was canceled at the start of the preliminary card broadcast after Cerrone fell ill. His team later said they think his illness was food poisoning. In the wake of the cancellation, Cerrone revealed he expects to fight Lauzon and then one more fight before he retires.
Lauzon revealed Monday on “The MMA Hour” that the promotion payed him his show money and Venum uniform money, which totaled around $95,000.
Cerrone (36-16 MMA, 23-13 UFC) looks to snap a six-fight winless streak that includes five losses (four by finish) and one no contest. Cerrone’s most recent win occurred in May 2019 when he dominated Al Iaquinta en route to a unanimous decision.
Lauzon (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) has not competed since October 2019 when he returned from an 18-month layoff. In front of his home crowd in Boston, Lauzon finished Jonathan Pearce with punches to snap a three-fight losing skid. After the fight, UFC president Dana White said Lauzon indicated the fight would be his last, a claim the fighter disputed.
With the addition, the UFC Austin lineup includes:
- Josh Emmett vs. Calvin Kattar
- Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon
- Kevin Holland vs. Tim Means
- Julian Marquez vs. Gregory Rodrigues
- Phil Hawes vs. Deron Winn
- Kyle Daukaus vs. Roman Dolidze
- Gloria de Paula vs. Maria Oliveira
- JP Buys vs. Cody Durden
- Jamsine Jasudavicius vs. Natalia Silva
- Damir Ismagulov vs. Guram Kutateladze
- Cody Stamann vs. Eddie Wineland
- Court McGee vs. Jeremiah Wells
