Lamas survives submission scare, chokes out Oliveira in 2nd round
The deck was stacked against Ricardo Lamas on Saturday and he responded with an emotionally charged performance against Charles Oliveira.
Lamas agreed to compete at UFC Fight Night 98 in Mexico City even after Oliveira missed weight by 10 pounds for their featherweight meeting. That size difference combined with Oliveira's elite submission skills nearly led to Lamas succumbing to a rear-naked choke in Round 1, but he was saved by the bell.
In Round 2, Lamas was again drawn into a grappling contest with the lethal Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, but it was Oliveira who ended up tapping when Lamas trapped him in a suffocating guillotine choke.
NÃO DEU! Depois de dominar primeiro round, Charles do Bronx é finalizado por Ricardo Lamas no segundo e perde 2ª seguida no UFC. #UFCMexico pic.twitter.com/tCUqXF65Mi
— Octógono UFC (@OctogonoVirtual) November 6, 2016
The win saved Lamas from taking his third loss in his past four appearances, which likely would have cost him his No. 4 spot in the official rankings. Instead, he improved his UFC record to 8-3.
Lamas had plenty of motivation going into the fight. In his postmatch interview, Lamas dedicated the fight to his mother who is currently battling cancer, as well as recently deceased fighter Josh Samman.
Oliveira lost for the second straight time by guillotine submission and the third time overall in his UFC career. He has just one win in his past four fights and could be in hot water with the promotion after his embarrassing weight-cut mishap.