“J-Lau” is back!
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) violence legend Joe Lauzon returns to combat sports this weekend, making his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) debut against Braeden “Stash” Kuykendall at BKFC 92 on Sat., Aug. 29, 2026, inside iconic Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Lauzon, 42, has not competed since destroying Jonathan Pearce in just 93 seconds at UFC Boston in 2019 (watch highlights).
After 31 months away, Lauzon was scheduled to face Donald Cerrone at UFC Vegas 53, but the fight was moved to UFC 274. Unfortunately, Cerrone fell ill on the day of the event, forcing the matchup to be canceled. They were booked one final time at UFC Austin, but this time Lauzon withdrew on fight day after dislocating his knee.
Since that final cancellation, Lauzon has focused on coaching and essentially remained semi-retired, insisting he would only return if an interesting opportunity came across his desk.
Fighting inside legendary Fenway Park was enough to bring the Massachusetts native back.
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But will this be a one-off?
“I never look past the fight that is in front of me, right?” Lauzon said during the BKFC 92 press conference. “So, we’ll see how Saturday goes. Maybe I like it, maybe I don’t. I don’t know. If they come back to Fenway and everything goes smoothly Saturday, 100 percent, I’m down to come back and do it again.”
“But I might go, ‘F this, let’s get the hell out of here.’ We’ll see,” Lauzon added. “I’m always open to opportunities. I never said I was retired, and I’m not saying Saturday is my last one — my boxing coach might say that.”
Lauzon is primarily known for his dangerous submission game, with 17 of his 28 professional victories coming by submission. Naturally, some fans have questioned how he will adjust to bare-knuckle boxing, where taking the fight to the ground is not an option.
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According to Lauzon, however, this training camp wasn’t much different from any of his UFC camps — minus the extra mixed martial arts (MMA) work.
“There was a little less jiu-jitsu, for sure, and a little less wrestling, but for most of my UFC fights, I sparred with 16-ounce boxing gloves, and we basically did sparring with takedowns,” Lauzon said. “I was never one to kick, so it was always pretty much straight-up boxing anyway. For this camp, we did the same thing. There was a little less clinching and wrestling, but it felt like every other camp I’ve ever done.”
“I always fought where I was best, which was jiu-jitsu and getting people to the ground, but all of my sparring has always been boxing,” Lauzon added. “So, it might seem a little weird and a little different, but everything I like to do in the clinch, I can do most of it here in BKFC. It won’t seem like I’m a fish out of water at all.”
Thankfully, Lauzon isn’t being thrown into the deep end against an established bare-knuckle killer. Kuykendall, 34, is 0-2 in BKFC, although he compiled a respectable 6-2 professional MMA record with all six victories coming by stoppage.
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Although Lauzon reportedly signed a multi-fight deal with BKFC, he clearly isn’t committing to anything beyond Saturday night.
If BKFC 92 proves to be one-and-done, Lauzon could hardly have chosen a more fitting stage for his final fight than Fenway Park. And if his UFC career taught us anything, “J-Lau” will always put on a show.
So, sit back, enjoy the violence and maybe cover your eyes a little.
To checkout the latest BKFC-related news and notes click here.
