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What's the story?
After earning a hard-fought victory for the first time in 16 months, former Featherweight title contender Ricardo Lamas is not getting ahead of himself. He seems pretty realistic about his chances of earning a title shot next against the winner of the scheduled title fight between Brian Ortega and Max Holloway.
In case you didn't know...
Lamas had last won in the Octagon at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale back in 2016. He came into UFC Fight Night: Argentina on the back of two defeats, against Josh Emmett in 2017 and more recently against Mirsad Bektic at UFC 225 in June 2018.
The 36-year-old had suffered a brutal knockout defeat to Emmett and a decision loss to Bektic, and was keen on scoring a comeback win in Argentina. And that's exactly what he did, as he knocked out Darren Elkins in the third round of their co-main event fight.
The heart of the matter
When asked about a potential Featherweight Title challenge in the near future, Lamas said that he wants to get a streak going in the 145-pound division before taking a shot at the UFC Featherweight Championship. (H/T: MMA Junkie)
“I think I’ve got to get a streak going before I do," Lamas stated, when asked about potentially facing the challenger of an upcoming fight between Max Holloway and Brian Ortega.
In addition, Lamas also noted that it was not only important for him to win the Argentina fight, but it was also important to finish it in comprehensive style. That, he believes, helped him prove a point to the rest of the Featherweight Division.
“It was very important, especially coming off my last two fight. I lost two in a row for the first time in my career. That kind of puts you in a dark place as an athlete and as a fighter, and you have to fight off all those inner voices of doubt that creep into your head. It was important to me to not only win this fight, but to perform well and finish it.”
What's next?
Max Holloway will defend his UFC Featherweight Title against Brian Ortega at UFC 231 on the 9th of December at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada. Lamas, meanwhile, will look to fight a few smaller fights in order to 'get a streak going'.
