To watch Ricardo Lamas vs. Charles Oliveira full fight video highlights from last night click here!
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight Ricardo Lamas essentially fought up a weight class opposite the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Charles Olivera last night (Nov. 5, 2016) at UFC Fight Night 98 inside Arena Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico. Lamas has been a consistent member of the Top 5 at Featherweight for several years now. He’s not the most skilled in any one area, but Lamas’ well-rounded skills and opportunistic attack has proven to be a dangerous combination. Meanwhile, Oliveira’s vicious offense and porous defense have resulted in big wins and losses. With the Brazilian likely heading back to Lightweight after this bout, it’s not clear what he really had to gain following his disastrous weight cut.
Lamas scored with some quick punches before tossing his opponent from the clinch. Oliveira showed his craftiness though, using a deep half guard to scramble into a takedown. As Lamas attempted to scramble, Oliveira locked in a d’arce choke and pulled guard. He quickly moved into the mount, but Lamas was somehow able to slip out of the choke. To be frank, it was fairly miraculous, as Lamas appeared to be dead in the water. Later, Oliveira locked in a rear naked choke, with only the bell saving his opponent.
It was as close a submission as humanly possible.
Lamas came out firing once again and managed to reverse a takedown early. After moving into side control, Oliveira was able to scramble into a takedown attempt. During so, Lamas latched onto his neck and sat back.
With the arm-in guillotine, Lamas showed his veteran experience. Rather than try to squeeze right away, Lamas pushed off the fence with his leg to land a better angle. Then, he leaned up and into the choke, which is the proper finish. The back of Oliveira’s head almost slipped out, but that means the choke was extremely tight and crushing his windpipe.
The Brazilian was forced to submit.
Lamas is an ultra tough opportunist, and both traits were on full display in this bout. Despite being forced to defend against terrible positions and submissions, Lamas eventually found his opening for the guillotine choke.
In particular, Lamas’ wrestling was on point in this bout. Twice, he found himself in poor position, but he was nevertheless able to reverse his opponent and force Oliveira to work. Over time, that exertion tired Oliveira, which helped him find the choke.
Following this win, Lamas is back in the mix. Another top contender is in his future, as the winner of Frankie Edgar and Jeremy Stephens would make sense for "The Bully." It was a pretty shameful night for Oliveira. After missing weight so disastrously, there was little potential for a positive outcome, but this is the worse case scenario. Not only did he come up short, but "Do Bronx" dove into a guillotine for the second time in a row.
It’s a lesson that he should’ve learned last time: Anyone can be submitted if they’re sloppy.
Now that Oliveira will likely be forced back to Lightweight, he’s in a rough position. Without his size advantage, Oliveira will have a more difficult time landing takedowns, which is hugely important to his strategy. If he’s stranded on his feet, Oliveira’s aggressive Muay Thai is far easier to counter, and he’s likely in for some beatings.
Last night, Ricardo Lamas strangled Charles Oliveira in the second round. Can Lamas make another run towards the strap?
For complete UFC Fight Night 98: "dos Anjos vs Ferguson" results and play-by-play, click HERE!