Now that Ricardo Lamas has been within striking distance of championship gold, he's willing to do whatever it takes to see his mission to completion.

The Chicago native fell short in his bid to take the UFC featherweight championship from Jose Aldo at UFC 169 in 2014. It was a hard-fought battle—one that Lamas spent more than a year campaigning for.

The experience of chasing the biggest prize in his division made Lamas even hungrier.

“I’ve had a taste of a title shot, and I want it again,” Lamas said. “I fell short the first time, and that makes you chase after it even harder. It makes you want it more and that’s what I’m doing now. I’m trying to earn my way to another opportunity and prove I’m the best 145-pound fighter in the world.”



In the aftermath of his bout with Aldo, the 34-year-old perennial contender has succeeded in all but one of his past four showings inside the Octagon. Lamas dispatched a collection of talent over this stretch, including Diego Sanchez—one of the most established names to ever compete under the UFC banner.

“It felt amazing to get a win over Diego,” Lamas said. “He’s a legend in our sport. I watched that guy for years before I was even a professional fighter. He’s been around forever, and he’s fought everyone. Diego is a true warrior who always brings it every single time he steps out there.

“Earning a victory over someone like that is always a great feather in your cap.”

The next step

Lamas' journey toward title contention will continue this Saturday night when he squares off with Max Holloway at UFC 199 in Los Angeles. The 24-year-old known as “Blessed” has stormed his way up the divisional ladder with an eight-fight winning streak over the past three years.

Although Holloway has been a fixture in the featherweight title picture for some time, Lamas believes that only makes the target on the young Hawaiian’s back bigger. Holloway has all the momentum right now, but stealing thunder is something Lamas has done in the past.

“I love to play the spoiler,” Lamas said. “This won’t be the first time, and it probably won’t be the last time. I fought Dennis Bermudez who was on a seven-fight winning streak and I handled business that night. I feel like my entire UFC career I’ve been put against all these guys who people expected to blow past me and I’ve defeated every single one of them."

Finding a place in the turbulent featherweight division

The situation atop the featherweight division is a jumbled mess due to champion Conor McGregor’s refusal to defend his title, which forced the creation of an interim strap between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar at UFC 200. But Lamas isn’t letting that disrupt him in the slightest.

Past experience has taught him to keep his head down on the grind. Lamas also knows how high the stakes will be at UFC 199, but as the risks and rewards increase, so does his focus. Lamas is motivated to carve out his place in title hunt.

“A win over Max will put me back up there where I want to be,” Lamas said. “I’ll be one of the next guys in line, but after that it all depends on what [Conor] McGregor does. I don’t know if he’ll ever come back to the division, but if he does, he’s going to fight the winner of Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar to unify the titles. That scenario would obviously push the winner of my fight back a bit, but I don’t care. I’m going to keep fighting and I’ll do whatever it takes to get there.

“I’m coming to make a statement in this fight. A lot of people keep bringing up the fact Max is so much younger, but there are a lot of rodeos left in this bull. I’m not going anywhere. I still can’t figure out why they moved him ahead of me in the rankings, and I’m going in there to take my spot back.”