Former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar was chosen to replace the injured Erik Koch and face the Brazilian José Aldo in the main fight of UFC Rio 3, an event that takes place on October 13th, in the capital of Rio de Janeiro. But the American was not the directors' first choice to challenge for the organization's featherweight title.
In an interview with Fight Club Chicago, Ricardo Lamas revealed that he received the offer to face Aldo at the event and, although he accepted it, the organization went back and chose Edgar, as they thought he would have greater commercial appeal.
“They called me and said Koch was injured. They wanted an answer that night and I was going to face Aldo. Of course I accepted right away, I did everything I needed to do quickly. Then, around nine o’clock, they called me and said they had made another decision,” said an upset Lamas.
The fighter also revealed that he would be the opponent of Frankie Edgar in the former lightweight champion's debut in the featherweight category, however, the North American revealed that despite the proposal they did not sign the contract for the duel.
“The UFC offered me a fight with Edgar in December and we accepted. We were waiting to hear from Sean Shelby (responsible for matching the featherweight fights) on Edgar's response. We accepted and were waiting for confirmation before we could announce the fight. This happened about two weeks ago, but the contract was not signed”, concluded Ricardo, who has not yet scheduled a return to the Octagon.
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