As far as short-notice fights go, you probably couldn’t get a tougher fight, or bigger opportunity, than Ricardo Lamas. That’s the situation featherweight newcomer Bill Algeo found himself in Saturday at UFC Vegas 8. Algeo, a.k.a. “Senor Perfecto,” was stepping in for Ryan Hall, with the chance to make a name for himself on the Las Vegas-based event’s main card.
At 38, Lamas was a WEC veteran, a UFC title challenger, and no doubt was nearing the end of his career. But he proved he still had something left in the gas tank on Saturday.
Bill Algeo right of the bat opened up with a variety of kicks highlighted by a textbook liver kick. Algeo was super aggressive and it almost allowed Lamas to lock in with a front choke. Back at range Algeo planted his front leg forward and Lamas was doing well landing the leg kick. Algeo did just fine, however, returning when Lamas was throwing. Algeo landed a nice combo ending it with a spinning kick to the gut. Lamas continued fighting in bursts, going to the head, and landing a leg kick. To close the round Algeo exploded forward landing a barrage of strikes putting Lamas is some danger.
Algeo found his range immediately in round two landing with a glancing head kick and a short combo. That forced Lamas to shoot for a takedown and he did get it, but only briefly as Algeo easily got back to his feet. Algeo looked super confident as he blitzed forward with output landing including a head kick at the end. Lamas continued try to get the fight down but Algeo showed good takedown defense. A nasty lead knee from Algeo landed flush to the face of Lamas hurting him bad. Algeo swarmed forward and scored a takedown but Lamas scrambled and returned to the feet to close the second round.
Straight to the face 😳 @ElSenorPerfecto is sensing his moment! #UFCVegas8 pic.twitter.com/42Cu3UxkHO
— UFC (@ufc) August 30, 2020
With all the damage Lamas took in the previous round, he looked surprisingly good to start the final frame. He was bouncing around landing a wide of variety of kicks. Lamas shot for a takedown and as Algeo defended the initial shot, but Lamas got it down the second time. Some big ground and pound was landed by Lamas but Algeo continued to move. After some punishment, Algeo did get back to his feet but Lamas got him back down twice. Lamas worked for a rear-naked choke, and wound up in the mount to end the fight with big elbows in a dominant round.
High-paced three rounds! How did you score it? 📝#UFCVegas8 pic.twitter.com/HxMxSM67TZ
— UFC (@ufc) August 30, 2020
After the fight, Lamas hinted that it could have very well been the last time we see him in the octagon. Improving to 20-8 with the win, it would be a heck of a performance to go out on — a gritty, back-and-forth war. Lamas was non-committal, however, so we may just see him again.
Official Result: Ricardo Lamas def. Bill Algeo by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
