Ricardo Lamas

Mixed martial arts career

ISCF - International Sport Combat Federation Lamas won the ISCF North Central Regional Title on April 26, 2008, in Loves Park, Illinois, US when he defeated Cal Ferry via Guillotine Choke at 4:50 of round 4.

World Extreme Cagefighting Lamas made his WEC debut on March 1, 2009, at WEC 39 against IFL and WEC veteran Bart Palaszewski. Lamas took the fight with 4 days notice as he replaced an injured Rich Crunkilton. Lamas controlled Palaszewski with superior wrestling and scored with excellent ground-and-pound to win a unanimous decision.

Lamas faced Danny Castillo on August 9, 2009, at WEC 42. Lamas suffered his first defeat as Castillo won the fight via second-round TKO.

Lamas next faced James Krause on November 18, 2009, at WEC 44. Lamas won the fight via unanimous decision.

Lamas then faced Bendy Casimir on March 6, 2010, at WEC 47. He won the fight in stunning fashion by defeating Casimir via flying knee KO in the first round.

Lamas defeated Dave Jansen via unanimous decision on August 18, 2010, at WEC 50.

Lamas was expected to face Maciej Jewtuszko on December 16, 2010, at WEC 53, but Jewtuszko had to withdraw as he suffered a broken hand during training. Lamas instead faced Iuri Alcântara and lost via KO in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship In October 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.

In his UFC debut, Lamas faced returning UFC veteran Matt Grice in a featherweight bout on June 26, 2011, at UFC on Versus 4. Lamas defeated Grice via TKO in the first round.

Lamas faced Cub Swanson on November 12, 2011, at UFC on Fox 1. Lamas won via second round submission after applying an arm-triangle choke, earning Submission of the Night honors.

Lamas was expected to face Dustin Poirier on February 4, 2012, at UFC 143, replacing an injured Erik Koch However, Lamas ended up injured as well and was replaced by Max Holloway.

For his third UFC fight at featherweight, Lamas faced Hatsu Hioki on June 22, 2012, at UFC on FX: Maynard vs. Guida. He won the fight via unanimous decision by outmatching and overpowering the heavily favored Hioki.

Lamas was briefly linked to a December 2012 bout with Frankie Edgar, however the pairing was scrapped after Edgar was tabbed as a replacement for the injured Erik Koch and face José Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 153.

Lamas faced Erik Koch on January 26, 2013, at UFC on Fox 6. Lamas won via TKO in the second round.

Lamas was expected to face Chan Sung Jung on July 6, 2013, at UFC 162. However, on June 14, it was announced that Jung had been pulled from the bout and would replace an injured Anthony Pettis to face José Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Championship on August 3, 2013, at UFC 163. As a result, Lamas was pulled from the event.

Lamas faced UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo for the title on February 1, 2014, as the co-main event of UFC 169. It was revealed during the UFC countdown show that Lamas received his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu during his training camp leading up to the bout. Lamas lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Lamas faced Hacran Dias on June 28, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 44. Lamas won the fight by unanimous decision.

Lamas faced Dennis Bermudez on November 15, 2014, at UFC 180. After dropping Bermudez with a jab, Lamas was able to secure a guillotine choke and earn the first round submission victory.

Lamas faced Chad Mendes on April 4, 2015, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 63. Mendes won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Lamas faced Diego Sanchez on November 21, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Lamas next faced Max Holloway on June 4, 2016, at UFC 199. He lost the back and forth fight via unanimous decision.

Lamas was scheduled to face returning veteran B.J. Penn on October 15, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 97. However, on October 4, Penn pulled out of the fight citing an injury. In turn, the promotion announced on October 6 that they had cancelled the event entirely.

Lamas was quickly rescheduled and returned to face Charles Oliveira on November 5, 2016, at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale. The bout was contested at a catchweight of 155 lbs, as Oliveira missed weight by nearly 10 lbs. Lamas won the fight via submission in the second round and was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus.

Lamas was expected to face Chan Sung Jung on July 29, 2017, at UFC 214. However Jung pulled out of the fight in early June citing a knee injury. He was replaced by Jason Knight. Lamas won the fight by first-round TKO.

Lamas was scheduled to face José Aldo on December 16, 2017, at UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. dos Anjos. However, Aldo was pulled from the bout in favour of a rematch with Max Holloway two weeks earlier at UFC 218, replacing an injured Frankie Edgar. Lamas instead faced Josh Emmett. At the weigh ins, Emmett weighed in at 148.5 pounds, 2.5 pounds over the featherweight upper limit of 146 pounds and the bout proceeded at a catchweight. Emmett forfeited 20% of his purse to Lamas. Lamas lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Lamas faced Mirsad Bektić on June 9, 2018, at UFC 225. He lost the fight by split decision.

Lamas faced Darren Elkins on November 17, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 140. He won the fight via TKO in the third round. Shortly after the fight, Lamas revealed in a social media post that he had been fighting with a blood clot in his left leg and that he got blood thinning medication for the condition.

Lamas faced Calvin Kattar at UFC 238 on June 8, 2019. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Lamas was scheduled to face Ryan Hall on May 2, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Weidman. However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed to a future date. The bout was rescheduled on August 29, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 175. However, Hall pulled out of the bout due to an undisclosed injury. Lamas instead faced promotional newcomer Bill Algeo. He won the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. Lamas confirmed his intention to retire from professional competition after the win over Algeo.

Fighting style Lamas nickname, "The Bully", comes from his physical presence and fighting style, where he roughs up his opponents and overpowers them, which comes from his amateur wrestling background, in addition to having strong Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills as well as a good striking game; the nickname was solidified during his fight with Hatsu Hioki. Despite being given said nickname, he abstains from trash talking. During the course of his MMA career, Lamas was never submitted.

Personal life Lamas and his wife Olivia have three children.

In June 2018, he opened a gym in Naperville, Illinois (part of the Chicago metropolitan area), which became affiliated with the UFC Gym.

During Lamas' time as an active competitor, he lived and trained in Miami, Florida. After retiring from active competition, he returned to Chicago.

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur wrestling NCAA Division III All-American out of Elmhurst College (2005) NCAA Division III 157 lb: 6th place out of Elmhurst College (2005) CCIW two-time champion (2004–05) at 157 lb (out of Elmhurst College) UFC.com Awards 2012: Ranked #5 Upset of the Year International Sport Combat Federation ISCF Lightweight Championship (One time) CBS Sports 2016 #10 Ranked UFC Fight of the Year

Mixed martial arts record Win

Bill Algeo Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakić

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Calvin Kattar TKO (punches) UFC 238

Chicago, Illinois, United States Win

Darren Elkins TKO (punches and elbows) UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio

Buenos Aires, Argentina Loss

Mirsad Bektić Decision (split) UFC 225

Chicago, Illinois, United States Loss

Josh Emmett KO (punch) UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. dos Anjos

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Win

Jason Knight TKO (punches) UFC 214

Anaheim, California, United States Win

Charles Oliveira Submission (guillotine choke) The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale: dos Anjos vs. Ferguson

Mexico City, Mexico Loss

Max Holloway Decision (unanimous) UFC 199

Inglewood, California, United States Win

Diego Sanchez Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale: Magny vs. Gastelum

Monterrey, Mexico Loss

Chad Mendes TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Mendes vs. Lamas

Fairfax, Virginia, United States Win

Dennis Bermudez Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 180

Mexico City, Mexico Win

Hacran Dias Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens

San Antonio, Texas, United States Loss

José Aldo Decision (unanimous) UFC 169

Newark, New Jersey, United States Win

Erik Koch TKO (elbows) UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson

Chicago, Illinois, United States Win

Hatsu Hioki Decision (unanimous) UFC on FX: Maynard vs. Guida

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Cub Swanson Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. dos Santos

Anaheim, California, United States Win

Matt Grice TKO (head kick and punches) UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Loss

Iuri Alcântara KO (punches) WEC 53

Glendale, Arizona, United States Win

Dave Jansen Decision (unanimous) WEC 50

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Bendy Casimir KO (flying knee) WEC 47

Columbus, Ohio, United States Win

James Krause Decision (unanimous) WEC 44

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Danny Castillo TKO (punches) WEC 42

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Bart Palaszewski Decision (unanimous) WEC 39

Corpus Christi, Texas, United States Win

Christopher Martins Decision (unanimous) IHC 12: Resurrection

Chicago, Illinois, United States Win

Gabe Miranda TKO (punches) Warriors Collide 6

Castle Rock, Colorado, United States Win

James Birdsley Decision (unanimous) Warriors Collide 4

Cripple Creek, Colorado, United States Win

Cal Ferry Submission (guillotine choke) ISCF: Rumble in the Park

Loves Park, Illinois, United States Win

Jake Corry Submission (guillotine choke) FCE: Collision

Northlake, Illinois, United States