{"id":73441,"date":"2013-11-07T10:39:44","date_gmt":"2013-11-07T18:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=73441"},"modified":"2022-02-06T12:37:15","modified_gmt":"2022-02-06T20:37:15","slug":"exclusive-ricardo-lamas-aldo-cant-coast-to-victory-in-this-ugly-dog-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/exclusive-interviews\/exclusive-ricardo-lamas-aldo-cant-coast-to-victory-in-this-ugly-dog-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE | Ricardo Lamas: ‘Aldo can’t coast to victory in this ugly dog fight’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Late Night Cage Side Radio returned with another great show this past Monday night. Hosts Kinch and Sean McClure wasted no time getting to their first guest, UFC featherweight, and number one contender, Ricardo Lamas (15-2, UFC 4-0).<\/p>\n

Lamas is set to face the featherweight champion, and one of the pound for pound best, Jose Aldo February 1 at UFC 169. Lamas\u2019 last fight was in January, where he TKO\u2019d Erik Koch in the second round to earn his fourth straight win in the UFC.<\/p>\n

Aldo essentially turned down a fight with UFC Lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis, in favor of one for Lamas. There\u2019s no doubt Lamas is grateful he did, having already waited quite a while for his shot. Lamas gave his thoughts on why Aldo chose him and how it feels to be included with fighters like Pettis and Aldo,<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah I think he does believe that I\u2019m the rightful number one contender. He\u2019s a great champion, he\u2019s one of the most dominant champions in, well, the featherweight division and the featherweight history and in UFC history too. I consider him to be one of the pound for pound best fighters right now and I\u2019m really excited to get the opportunity to see how I stack up against him. You know, I thought it was really cool that he said he wanted to fight me more than Anthony Pettis, because Anthony Pettis is another awesome fighter and to be up there and having these top guys, these top fighters in the world want to fight me is, it\u2019s awesome\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lamas\u2019 journey from his first fight in the UFC, a TKO victory of Matt Grice, to now, gearing up for a title shot, has been one of hard work and constant focus. Not wanting to look ahead, Lamas chose to take it one fight at a time,<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know after every fight I had in the UFC I felt myself inching closer and closer to that title shot. Each fight that I had was progressively harder and against, you know, a bigger name and my last two fights were against guys who were supposed to fight for the title. So I defiantly thought it was coming, but it\u2019s one of those things where you can never be 100 percent certain, you know what I mean? Cause you never know what Dana White is thinking, what the UFC is thinking. So it was something that I thought I deserved, but I wasn\u2019t 100 percent sure I was going to get. But I just kept telling myself I got to stay the course and keep doing what I\u2019m doing and not really worry about the title shot, just worry about what\u2019s in front of me, you know? And eventually it\u2019ll take care of itself and I\u2019ll get there\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

During his 4 fight win streak Lamas bested Matt Grice, Cub Swanson, Hatsu Hioki and Erik Koch. Lamas gave some reflection and insight into a few of those fights and described his key to getting the win,<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know each one, each fight kind of tested me. In my fight with Matt Grice I was coming off a loss from the WEC and I really had to just focus mentally and be, you know , 100 percent on my game in that fight and, you know, I feel like I accomplished that. In my fight with Cub [Swanson] I had a death in the family the week of the fight. So mentally I wasn\u2019t even there in that fight, but I really, you know, after that first round I really had to slap myself out of it and really dig deep down inside to kind of pull that win off. Against [Hatsu] Hioki I went in with a little injury. So that was another one that I had to dig, you know, dig deep inside for. That mental toughness had to come through. There\u2019s not really one fight I could pick out, you know, every fight that I\u2019ve fought I\u2019ve had to dig down deep, you know, that\u2019s just how I am, I\u2019ve got a big heart. If you want to take me out in a fight you better knock me out or whatever, otherwise I\u2019m going to keep coming at you, and the second you slip up and make one mistake I\u2019m taking advantage of it\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

When \u201cThe Bully\u201d steps into the octagon with Aldo on Feb. 1, it will be for the first time in over a year. It\u2019s common to see a little ring rust from a fighter who has sat out with an injury, but Lamas plans to show that there\u2019s a big difference in nursing an injury and simply waiting for the right time to strike,<\/p>\n

\u201cWell I say to them you know, I\u2019m not sitting out because I\u2019m injured, you know I\u2019ve been in the gym every single day, I\u2019ve been uh taking this time to train and get better as a fighter you know, to work on the things I was weak at before. So being away from the light this long has made me even more hungry. So come February 1 everybody\u2019s going to see the best Ricardo Lamas yet, in the Octagon\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lamas has no illusions when it comes to his opponent. Jose Aldo (23-1, UFC 5-0) is the king of the featherweight division, and taking his crown will not be an easy task. Aldo\u2019s last fight, a TKO win in the fourth round against Chan Sung Jung, only increased his status as one of the best. Lamas gave his thoughts on the champ and how he plans on taking the fight to him,<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t have too many holes in his game, you know, he\u2019s the champ for a reason, he doesn\u2019t make very many mistakes. But I think the thing that everyone has to realize is that Jose Aldo is human just like everybody else. You know he\u2019s going to make mistakes in there. I think the guys that have fought him lost the fight before, you know, even stepping into the octagon, mentally. And I\u2019ve also seen, kind of, Jose Aldo in the latter rounds kind of coast through the fight and do just enough to win the round and to win the fight. And you know against me, I\u2019m not going to let him do that, I\u2019m going to have to put pressure on him the whole, all five rounds and just make it a dirty ugly fight man, just a dog fight\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lamas plans on focusing on what he needs to do, not on the highlight reel that is Jose Aldo,<\/p>\n

\u201cAldo punches hard, he kicks hard, I know that, I\u2019m expecting it, I know he\u2019s going to hit me hard and kick me hard. But I\u2019m going to keep coming forward, I\u2019m going to take everything he throws at me and try to give it back to him. I think that\u2019s what you really have to do. You can\u2019t give him space, you can\u2019t let him implement his style of fighting, you can\u2019t let him come forward on you. You’ve got to go forward on him you’ve got to back him up\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lamas finished the interview with a final thought on his title shot that\u2019s been a year in the making,<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my head, its 100 percent, you know. I\u2019d never take a fight that I don\u2019t think I could win and I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any fight out there that I don\u2019t think I could win. So, I’ve been the underdog in a lot of fights, and it doesn’t bother me at all. You know, the whole world doesn’t have to believe in me, as long as I believe in myself that\u2019s all I need\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE:<\/p>\n