Joe Lauzon’s decision to retire will depend on one specific factor.

Lauzon (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC), 38, has been part of the UFC roster since 2006. He hasn’t competed since October 2019 and will return from an almost three-year layoff to face Donald Cerrone on June 18 in Austin, Texas.

Lauzon, a Massachusetts native, is nearing the end of his career, but unlike Cerrone (36-16-1 MMA, 29-16-1 UFC), he isn’t ready to pinpoint exactly when.

“It could be the last one,” Lauzon told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’m not saying that to try and tease people. It could be the last one, I have no idea. This is now almost like a second camp. We just did the entire ‘Cowboy’ camp for Phoenix, and now we’re doing like a shortened, six-week camp for Austin, Texas. So this is like a whole second fight. It feels like it’s been a whole second camp. It’s just been a lot of wear and tear, a very grinding process.”

He continued, “I’m not gonna say I’m retiring before a fight happens. I’m always gonna say I’m gonna make a choice as we go. I don’t have to fight. I’m fighting because I want to fight. I think it’ll be a great fight. I think I’ll do really well. I think it’ll be a good fight against ‘Cowboy,’ that’s why I’m gonna do this fight. If I did not think it was gonna go well, I wouldn’t have done the fight.”

Lauzon, who owns a gym in Raynham, said he doesn’t need to fight because money isn’t his motivating factor. What would help him decide whether or not he continues is the amount of damage he takes against Cerrone.

“I personally don’t want to put my wife through another (experience of) me getting my butt kicked or getting knocked out or something like that,” Lauzon said. “If it happened one more time, then that’s definitely the end of it. If I go out, and I fight ‘Cowboy,’ and he kicks me in the face, you don’t have to hear from me. I’m telling you right now, that will be the last fight.

“If I go out there and have an even fight with ‘Cowboy,’ and I don’t get beat up then maybe we’ll fight again. If I go out there, and I blow him out of the water, maybe we’ll fight again. But the next time you see a bad fight out of me, that’s definitely the last time. You don’t have to hear it from me that it’s the last time, but you just know that’s the last one.”