Ricardo Lamas bounces back with decision victory over Hacran Dias
SAN ANTONIO -- Ricardo Lamas will have to settle for beating one of Jose Aldo's teammates.
The former featherweight No. 1 contender defeated Hacran Dias by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday at AT&T Center. Lamas lost to Aldo in a title fight at UFC 169 in February, getting dominated for all five rounds. Aldo and Dias both train at Nova Uniao in Brazil.
Lamas was content to stay on the outside against Aldo. He didn’t want the same thing to happen against Dias. He closed the distance quickly and clearly wanted to make this a grappling match, even against a Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace.
"I wanted to get back to my roots," Lamas said. "Wrestling is what got me into the UFC."
The first round was close with Lamas getting the better of some exchanges. Dias clearly won the second round, though, dropping Lamas with a combination and controlling him throughout. The fight came down to a very close third round. Lamas took Dias' back momentarily in the third, but Dias also had his moments of controlling the grappling.
Lamas (14-3) has won five of six in the UFC. He came in ranked No. 3 in the featherweight division and will hold his position as one of the elite fighters at 135 in the world. Dias (21-3-1) has only fought twice since 2012, but now has been defeated in two straight, last falling to Nik Lentz in May 2013.
Lamas said he might have broken his hand in the first or second round. He'll likely get a top contender next, but that might not be for some time if he is indeed injured.
