Ricardo Lamas (15-4) might secretly be a fan of John Cena, or he may actually be looking to put a serious hurt on recent addition to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight division, Diego Sanchez (25-7).
"The Nightmare," if he's still called that these days, campaigned for a fight against "The Bully" on social media and "The MMA Road Show" with John Morgan last May. Then, he was finally given his wish by UFC brass in August.
Sanchez, an alum of season one of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), clashes with the No. 4-ranked UFC featherweight Lamas in Monterrey, Mexico, on Nov. 21, 2015. Known as a highly-entertaining, balls-to-the-wall kind of fighter throughout his decade-long tenure in UFC, Lamas won't allow himself to dragged into Sanchez's style of fight.
"The big thing is not to get lured into a street fight, like he likes. I've got to stay technical. I've got to use my angles and my footwork and just be faster," Lamas told "Inside MMA."
The 33-year-old will need to be ready to push the pace and match his opponent's tempo for 15 minutes, which shouldn't be a problem for the former. Lamas has went 25 minutes with 145-pound champion Jose Aldo, and 15 minutes with the likes of Hacran Dias and Hatsu Hioki in the past.
With that being said, fighters, namely Cain Velasquez, have succumbed to the pressures of fighting at a higher elevation when south of the border, but Lamas takes care of himself between fights.
"I always come in, in shape and I have a hyperbaric chamber, which I recently purchased, also that I use for my training camps," said Lamas. "I've fought at 9,500-foot altitudes before against guys who've trained at altitudes before and outlasted them. It's not something that I worry about."
Lamas choked out perennial Featherweight contender Dennis Bermudez at UFC 180 nearly one year ago in Mexico City, Mexico, which is 7,000 feet above sea level.
After getting floored by three-time title challenger Chad Mendes back in April at UFC Fight Night 63, Lamas believes a win over a household name like Sanchez will be lead to his name being reinserted into the title picture at 145 pounds and a potential shot at, perhaps, the loser of the upcoming title unification bout between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor at UFC 194 in December.
His prediction on who will remain victorious:
"Conor McGregor has a very unique style. It's different than what we normally see, but if I had to choose, I'm going to go with Jose Aldo," said Lamas. "I think he has more weapons in his arsenal and if he uses them all, it's going to be too much for McGregor to handle."
For more on the UFC Fight Night 78: "Brown vs. Gastelum" and UFC 194: "Aldo vs. McGregor" fight cards, click here and here.