No longer angry about Aldo-Pettis, UFC 162's Ricardo Lamas wants own shot

It always was going to be “The Zombie.” Ricardo Lamas knew it.

When he stood up from the canvas after pounding Erik Koch‘s face into a bloody mess in Chicago in January at UFC on FOX 6, Lamas thought he may have booked a title shot with featherweight champion Jose Aldo. A week later, not long after watching Aldo beat Frankie Edgar, Lamas learned his win wasn’t good enough because Anthony Pettis wanted to drop from lightweight for a title shot.

And from that point on, Lamas knew Chan Sung Jung – the famed “Korean Zombie” – was who he was going to have to go through if he wanted a shot at a UFC title. The fight wasn’t announced for more than a month after Lamas knew Pettis had leapfrogged him in the pecking order, but that didn’t much matter.

“I’ve actually known I was going to fight him for a while and they wanted me to keep it quiet because of the rehab he was going through,” Lamas told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) this past month in Las Vegas. “He had a recurring injury and they had to put it off. But I knew probably two weeks after my fight with Koch that it was going to be against ‘Korean Zombie,’ I just had to keep quiet about it.

“It was the only fight I wanted and the only fight I would’ve taken because the UFC holds him in high regard. I think he’s the last guy I’m going to have to go through before I hopefully solidify a title shot.”

Lamas and Jung will fight on the main card of UFC 162, which takes place July 6 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.

With four straight wins since dropping from lightweight to featherweight when he moved to the UFC from the WEC following the promotions’ merger, Lamas has moved to the front of the pack at 145 pounds. Each win has been a little more impressive than the one before it, both in terms of quality of opponent and way of finish.

He stopped Matt Grice with a head kick and some follow-up bombs in his 145-pound debut, then submitted Cub Swanson at UFC on FOX 1. About a year ago, he outpointed Hatsu Hioki, then considered the world’s No. 2 featherweight. And against Koch, the finish was violent enough to be considered nothing short of a statement fight.

Not surprisingly, finding out he had been bypassed for a title shot by a lightweight dropping down to 145 for the first time had him a little aggravated. But that’s just serving as motivation against Jung at this point.

“It was something I was pretty pissed off about for about a day,” Lamas said. “I’m not mad at him or anything – he went through his own things at lightweight. He was promised a title shot a couple times and had it taken away. So I understand he was just looking out for himself and his career. I wish they would’ve given it to me, though.”

But what’s it going to take for him to get a shot against either Aldo or Pettis, who fight at UFC 163 a month after he meets Jung?

It’s pretty simple, Lamas thinks.

“I think I’ve got to go out there and finish this fight,” he said. “I think I have to finish the ‘Zombie’ and put him away.”

Jung will enter on a three-fight streak, but without a fight in about 14 months after injuries have kept him out following his submission win over Dustin Poirier in May 2012. A win over the “Zombie” would be the next step up the ladder for Lamas in that progression of opponents.

And it probably won’t hurt that Jung is considered so highly regarded by the UFC brass, including President Dana White, who once wore a “Korean Zombie” shirt to a UFC weigh-in event while Jung and Lamas still were fighting in the WEC.

But if things really go Lamas’ way, maybe he’ll need to have some shirts printed up with his “Bully” nickname on them.

“I think it’s just because of his style,” Lamas said. “He always puts on exciting fights, he’s always going forward, he’s always looking for a knockout. After his fight with Leonard Garcia (at WEC 48), he kind of blew up. But I’m going to try to change Dana’s mind after this fight and maybe get him to wear a ‘Bully’ t-shirt.”

At this point for Lamas, though, opponents don’t matter that much. Put whoever in front of him – as long as that opponent is going to get him to a title shot, or be a fight for the belt.

So if he gets past Jung in July, who will he be pulling for between Aldo and Pettis in August?

“I’ve thought about that, and being the guy to beat Aldo would be the best,” Lamas said. “He’s one of the best champs of all of them, and such a dominating athlete, and I’d love to be able to beat him. So if Pettis does it before me, I’d be a little disappointed. But as long as I get the chance to fight Pettis for the belt if he wins, then I’ll be happy.”

For the latest on UFC 162, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.