UFC Fight Night 63: Mendes vs. Lamas Date: April 11, 2015 Location: Patriot Center Venue: Fairfax, Virginia Broadcast: FS1 UFC Featherweight Contender Chad Mendes One of the top featherweight fighters in the UFC, Chad Mendes (16-2) bounced back from his first career loss to UFC champion Jose Aldo at UFC 142 with a dominant first-round knockout win over Cody McKenzie at UFC 148. He didn’t stop there, however, as he took out Yaotzin Meza, Darren Elkins, Clay Guida and Nik Lentz in successive fights to earn a five-fight win streak as well as another crack at Aldo and his featherweight crown. A powerful wrestler with improving standup and knockout power, Mendes is a little sparkplug and with his increased confidence in the striking department, and he went toe-to-toe with Aldo in the rematch, ultimately losing a close unanimous decision. Despite the loss to Aldo, though, Mendes remains one of the top 145lbers in the game, and with a win over Ricardo Lamas at UFC Fight Night 63, will once again be knocking on the door for a title shot, and could very well be crowned the next No. 1 contender should Conor McGregor upset Aldo at UFC 189. UFC Featherweight Contender Ricardo Lamas Ricardo Lamas (15-3) made his way to the UFC from the WEC’s lightweight division after experiencing mixed results with a 4-2 mark in the California-based promotion. The highlight of his WEC career is no doubt his first-round knockout of Bendy Casimir by flying knee at WEC 47 on March 6, 2010. In the UFC, Lamas decided to make the cut to featherweight went 4-0 with impressive victories over Matt Grice, Cub Swanson, Hatsu Hioki and Erik Koch before earning a title shot against Jose Aldo at UFC 169. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, but has since bounced back with wins over Hacran Dias and Dennis Bermudez to up his stock once again. The 31-year-old Chicago area native trains with many notable martial artists at MMA Masters in Florida, including his best friend Luis Palomino, who is one of the best lightweights not in the UFC. A wrestler by trade, Lamas has improved his striking over the years and has turned into one of the best featherweights in the world. He now takes on Chad Mendes at UFC Fight Night 63, and with a win would be close to a title shot once again. Opening Fight Night 63 Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Mendes a -400 favorite (bet $400 to win $100) while Lamas opened as a +280 underdog (bet $100 to win $280) at Several Bookmakers. This should be an absolute barnburner between two featherweights who are trying to earn a rematch with Aldo. Lamas looked sensational in his last fight, submitting Bermudez in the first round with a guillotine choke, but Mendes is an extremely good fighter and it’s unlikely Lamas will find so much success with his submissions in this fight. Mendes is coming off of a 2014 Fight of the Year candidate with Aldo and with a win over Lamas, will keep his name in the title picture. Although Lamas is a stud, Mendes has probably performed a bit better overall in his UFC career and while this should be an entertaining fight regardless of who wins, with Mendes’ popularity among bettors it’s no surprise he is the favorite entering this bout.
