This weekend, when the UFC touches down in Nashville, Tennessee, fan favorite lightweight Joe Lauzon will take on Scotland’s Stevie Ray. The bout will mark Lauzon’s 24th fight under the UFC banner – an incredible run that has seen him earn a record 15 performance of the night awards.

Ahead of his latest battle, Lauzon joined BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor to discuss his fighting future, and his inevitable retirement from the sport of mixed martial arts:

“You know as long as I feel healthy and I am into it then I will continue,” Lauzon said of his fighting career. “I love training man. I honestly love it. I wake up every day and I am excited to go to the gym. Don’t get me wrong, everyone has a day or two during fight camp where they wake up and don’t want to do it, but after a day or two off I just can’t wait to get back in the gym. So as long as I am into it and I am healthy and holding it together then I am going to keep fighting. I like the idea of always getting better.”

He elaborated, giving a sense of when he might decide to hang up the gloves:

“It could be two fights [from now], it could be fifteen fights,” he said. “I honestly have no idea. I thought that two contracts ago that would be the last contract I ever signed. I don’t know how much longer this is going to go. New younger guys are coming up all the time that are super skilled who have been doing MMA since they were like four, you know? So it’s really like, how much longer am I going to remain competitive and be able to deal with those types of guys? I am not getting any younger. But as long as I am feeling good and staying competitive then I will continue to fight.”

Will you be sad when the ever-entertaining Joe Lauzon eventually decides to retire? Sound off, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/18/2017.