Undefeated Lance Lawrence’s (4-0) next fight is special to him for a few reasons.
He’ll be competing on Hardrock MMA’s 100th show, the regional promotion he’s primarily fought for since his amateur career launched in 2013. Hardrock MMA 100 goes down in Louisville, KY, his hometown, on August 11. The venue is 4th Street Live!, an entertainment and retail complex with several nice restaurants and bars–a tourist attraction in Kentucky. Lawrence even worked security at concerts there three years ago. And now he gets to fight on that same stage.
“I used to think about how cool it’d be to fight on that stage one day,” Lawrence, 25, told MMASucka. “Here I am fighting on it now.”
Lawrence will take on Justin King (7-5) in a featherweight bout. He’s excited to fight King, a wrestler with 12 pro fights and a solid record.
“It’d be pretty obvious to keep my distance and keep him from getting in on me,” Lawrence said of the match-up. “I’d look to pick him apart from wherever the fight goes. My conditioning is top-notch. I’m as prepared as I could be for a fight.”
Lawrence has an impressive finishing streak. He’s finished all four of his professional wins via submission, and finished six of his eight amateur wins the same way. He finished his other two amateur wins via strikes. He went 8-0 as an amateur before making the leap to pro in February 2016.
“I plan to remain undefeated and retire undefeated.”
He’s predicting a first or second round submission win over King, primarily because that’s how he’s grown accustomed to winning. In fact, Lawrence has never tasted defeat in an MMA bout, and he intends to keep it that way.
“I enter each fight ready to lose and deal with the consequences,” he said. “But I plan to remain undefeated and retire undefeated, and I’m a long way from retiring. Every guy who takes a fight with me thinks he’ll give me my first loss. I think about that everyday when I’m training. I’m not going to let that happen.”
By the time Lawrence steps back into the cage, it will have been nearly 11 months. The Kentuckian said he’d like one more fight this year after Hardrock MMA 100. He’ll take anything that will get him a step closer to the UFC.
“It’s really UFC is what I have my eyes on,” Lawrence said. “A UFC gold belt. If there are other organizations that are feeder shows or any smaller UFC Fight Pass organizations, I’d love to fight for them as well and prove my merit.”
With Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series set to wrap for the summer pretty soon, Lawrence said he’s shifting his attention towards either a short-notice debut, or getting on “Dana White Looking For a Fight.”
“That would be awesome,” he said. “I would love for Dana White to be able to see me fight. That would give me a guaranteed shot into the UFC.”
He’s more than happy to continue putting on shows for Hardrock MMA until he gets his chance, though.
