Ricardo Lamas has not fought in the UFC since January, but that hasn’t stopped him and his camp from lobbying for a title fight against 145lb champ Jose Aldo. Given his unbeatean streak in the UFC, and the caliber of opponents he’s finished, Lamas’ resume makes a pretty good case for a shot at the belt.
MMALockup spoke with Lamas last week, and his argument for number one contendership certainly made sense, especially when his four fight win streak is put into the equation. Lamas told us, “Out of the top five contenders, I’m the only one who hasn’t had a chance to fight Jose Aldo yet. Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, Cub Swanson, (and Chang Sung Jung), they’ve all had their chance, and they lost.”
He went on to say, “The last two guys that I’ve beaten were supposed to fight Jose Aldo, and I took them out, so obviously I think I should be next in line.”
Dana White told the media recently that the fight may possibly happen in February at UFC 169, but it’s far from official. “We’re talking about that (fight) Super Bowl weekend, but it’s not done yet,” White said. “We’re talking about it, but we talk about a lot of things.”
It seems appropriate given that the upcoming light heavyweight title match between Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira was thought to be the UFC 169 headliner, until Dana White shot it down. “Jones-Teixeira is not happening on the Super Bowl; that was never a done deal. It’s later in the year.” The confusion came from an official announcement from the UFC that White later claimed was incorrect.
By February, Jose Aldo will have had plenty of time to train for his title defense; so there’s a good chance UFC will make this match official very soon. If the match happens in February, it will have been over a year since Lamas stepped into the octagon. Normally, lengthy layoffs are reserved for injured or suspended fighters, but such is not the case for Ricardo Lamas.
“My health is fine, I’m ready to go. It’s not like I’ve been injured and sitting out this whole time. I’ve been in the gym, working on everything, trying to get better as a fighter and I think that I have.”
For complete audio of the interview with Ricardo Lamas click here.
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Source:
http://www.mmalockup.com/2013/10/23/ricardo-lamas-hoping-for-a-shot-at-jose-aldo/