Joe Lauzon on submission grappling super match: It isn't going to last very long

"I'm definitely in deep water," Joe Lauzon tells FOX Sports.

The UFC lightweight star isn't talking about his next fight, or even his coming marriage in late May. JLau is giving an honest take on his just-announced submission grappling match against Dillon Danis on May 9 at Metamoris 6.

Lauzon has fought professionally since he was a teenager and estimates that it has been about 10 years since he's taken part in a grappling tournament or match. The Massachusetts fighter is one of the UFC's most dangerous submission fighters, but he has had to mix in those skills with many others, including striking.

Against Danis at the submission-only Metamoris event, Lauzon won't have punches or elbows at his disposal to soften up an opponent who spends all of his time focusing on grappling. That will be a challenge.

"If I looked at this guy and he was trying to take a fight in the UFC, I'd say his chances of doing well weren't very good," Lauzon explains.

"It's just a different thing. It's similar, but it's different. So I'd be a fool to think it will be easy for me to go into his world of grappling without strikes. It's going to be a challenge."

At the same time, Lauzon is confident that he has some advantages in his favor as well. "He'll give me some different looks, but I think I can give him some looks that he hasn't seen before, as well," he says.

"One advantage I have is that I've been doing this for a living for 10 years. I own a gym, sure, but basically everything I do revolves around my training. Day in and day out, I train for competition."

Indeed, one of the main reasons Lauzon decided to do this submission grappling match in between UFC fights is because it will give him something to train hard for during a hectic time in his life. After a tough loss at UFC 183 in late January, Lauzon is happy to stay in the gym with a goal in mind.

"This will be a fun thing to train for and stay in shape for," he says.

"I'm getting married in late May, so I didn't want to take another fight right before that or too soon after it. But with this match, I can just focus on grappling, which I love to do. With a fight, you have to do hard sparring rounds, and those are a grind. Grappling is something I can do all day that I love and that is relatively safe. So now I get to stay in shape, train hard but safe, and do something other than be bummed out about my last fight, before my wedding."

Though Lauzon is confident that, win or lose, his Metamoris match with Danis will be a good time, without all the pressure of a UFC fight, he does plan to compete the way he always does --€“ hard. "The match is scheduled for 20 minutes, but I just can't see it going that long, either way," he laughs.

"I'm guessing we're going to have an exciting three- or four-minute match that fans will love."