“UFC 223” marked the fourth bout of Chris “Gritz” Gruetzemacher, 31, of Surprise, Arizona in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He earned his second win in the promotion by defeating Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon, 33, of Bridgewater, Massachusetts  in the lightweight division.

The peak of the action took place in the second round. Gruetzemacher punished Lauzon with elbows to the face.

After suffering from Gruetzemacher’s uppercuts, Lauzon was still standing. At the end of Round 2, Lauzon’s face was bloody.

Lauzon’s corner made the call to wave the lightweight bout off shortly after the bell sounded off following the second round. Gruetzemacher won via technical knockout via corner stoppage.

On September 23, 2006, Lauzon made a successful UFC debut by knocking out Jens Pulver via punch at “UFC 63.” Lauzon defeated Brandon Melendez and Jason Reinhardt in 2007, Kyle Bradley in 2008, Jeremy Stephens in 2009 and Gabe Ruediger in 2010.

In 2010, Lauzon submitted Curt Burton and Melvin Guillard via kimura and rear-naked choke, respectively. Lauzon defeated Jamie Varner in 2012, Mac Danzig in 2013, Michael Chiesa in 2014 and Takanori Gomi in 2015.

The two most recent UFC fighters to lose to Lauzon were Diego Sanchez and Marcin Held. Lauzon knocked out Sanchez via punches at “UFC 200” on August 27, 2016 and defeated Held via split decision at “UFC Fight Night 103” on January 15, 2017.

Like Lauzon’s, Gruetzemacher’s UFC debut was a successful one. Gruetzemacher defeated Abner Lloveras via unanimous decision at “The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale” on December 11, 2015.

After defeating Lauzon at “UFC 223,”Gruetzemacher now has 14 wins and 3 losses. On the other hand, Lauzon’s record downgraded to 27 wins and 15 losses.

“UFC 223” took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on April 7, 2018. In the main event, undefeated fighter Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov, 29, of Dagestan, Russia fought for the UFC Lightweight Championship against Al Iaquinta, 30, of New York City, New York.

In the co-main event, reigning UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Rose “Thug” Namajunas, 25, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin defended her title against former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, 30, of Olsztyn, Poland in a rematch. Meanwhile, here is a post-fight interview with Gruetzemacher: