Ricardo Lamas waiting for ex-UFC champ Frankie Edgar to sign on dotted line

The stage is set for onetime UFC featherweight title challenger Ricardo Lamas to fight Frankie Edgar. Now, they just need a contract.

“We’re trying to communicate with the UFC,” Lamas told MMAjunkie Radio. “It makes the most sense for my career, for his career, for No. 2 and No. 3 to go at it.”

Edgar (21-5-1 MMA, 15-5-1 UFC) and Lamas (17-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) are respectively ranked No. 3 and No. 5 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings. But few would disagree the fighters – who are No. 2 (Edgar) and No. 3 (Lamas) in the official UFC rankings – are still in striking distance of title contention.

That’s probably why Edgar targeted the current interim featherweight champ Max Holloway or Lamas for his next bout (via MMAFighting.com), possibly at UFC 211 on May 13 in Dallas. But then Holloway (17-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) was booked in a title-unifier against champ Jose Aldo (26-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) at UFC 212.

Lamas took to Twitter for confirmation the former lightweight champ wanted to fight him. He’s still waiting for the official call (via Twitter):

“He said he’s good to go middle of May, and I said I was down with that,” Lamas said. “Hopefully, Frankie’s a man of his word, and we’ll get this thing done.”

The time frame works for Lamas, and the broadcast platform is not a concern. Whether it’s pay-per-view or free TV, he just wants to get a shot at the decorated fighter, who recently outpointed Jeremy Stephens at UFC 205.

Frankie Edgar and Jeremy Stephens

Lamas, who’s coming off a submission win over Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 98, figures the delay is due to Edgar’s contract status with the promotion. The Stephens win, his second-to-last obligation, preceded talks for a new deal, which apparently hasn’t gotten done. A call to Edgar’s manager Ali Abdelaziz wasn’t immediately returned.

“Hopefully, we get that done soon, and we book this fight,” Lamas said.

With as many as three fights remaining on his deal, Lamas isn’t looking beyond Edgar when it comes to his career. Nor is he thinking about fighting out his contract as has become popular among UFC veterans.

“For me, I’m a UFC company man,” he said. “When I was a kid, I didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming a Bellator MMA fighter. I wanted to be in the UFC. I’m here now.”

In fact, Lamas is readying himself to become a franchise owner of a UFC gym in his native Chicago.

“I want to retire here,” he said. “I built my career in this company, and I want to be here until the end.”

It appears Lamas and Edgar are on the same page about that, too. If they can just get together on a fight, Lamas will be happy.

For more on UFC 211 and UFC 212, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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