Ricardo Lamas Willing to Wait For Jose Aldo, Won’t Fight Cub Swanson
UFC featherweight contender Ricardo Lamas has put together an impressive resume as of late, winning bouts over Erik Koch, Hatsu Hioki, Cub Swanson, and Matt Grice since coming over to the UFC. That streak has him smack in the middle of the UFC featherweight title discussion.
He was set to face The Korean Zombie at UFC 162, but those plans fell apart when Anthony Pettis got injured. UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo defeated KZ at last weekend’s UFC 163, but broke his foot in the process, leaving some uncertainty around the next title fight. Ariel Helwani spoke to Lamas, revealing the rising contender’s intentions on last night’s “UFC Tonight”:
“If they guarantee me the shot, I’ll wait until 2014. I really want this, and if they tell me right now I’m gonna get this title shot, I’ll wait for him. If they tell me, “We don’t know, we have wait and see about his foot,” I want to get busy, I want to get back out there, let me fight.”
Lamas may have a good point there, as he defeated Swanson handily less than two years ago. However, Swanson may be a different fighter now, seemingly on a mission in dispatching five straight opponents. Swanson had an idea for his next bout:
“I’d love to fight Lamas or Frankie Edgar.”
A bout with Edgar could definitely be a great fight, and clear up the top of the 145 lb. division. Lamas is very deserving of the next shot at Aldo, and while the UFC has not made any concrete plans in that area, it would seem that he’ll be next in line. He’s willing to wait, but also willing to fight. However, not against Swanson:
“I’ll fight some new guys, but not Cub Swanson. I beat him in November of 2011.”
Lamas makes a strong argument to fight Aldo, which would be a blockbuster bout should it come to fruition. It will most likely be early next year after Aldo completely heals up, so that could leave time for Edgar and Swanson to battle it out for the next No 1 contender spot.
In any case, the UFC featherweight division has a myriad of options that are quickly making it one of the most exciting divisions in all of MMA.
