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UFC featherweight Ricardo Lamas is not sulking over another opponent shift, and that’s because he can’t afford to.

He’ll wait to express his true feelings when the post-fight mic comes his way. Then the world will know how he feels about the situation.

“I feel like sometimes I don’t get the respect I deserve in the division or from the UFC,” Lamas, who meets Josh Emmett at UFC on FOX 26, told MMAjunkie Radio. “I’m a finisher. I go out there and finish fights. And I’m going to keep doing that, so these guys are going to learn to respect me sooner or later.”

Lamas (18-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC) lost a chance to rematch Jose Aldo at Saturday’s event after the ex-champ was tapped to replace the injured Frankie Edgar against champ Max Holloway at UFC 218. The UFC installed Emmett (12-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) as a short-notice replacement.

It was the second big name to slip through Lamas’ fingers in 14 months; a fight in October 2016 with B.J. Penn at UFC Fight Night 97 was canceled when Penn announced an injury.

Rather than dwell about his recent fortune, Lamas shifted focus to his new opponent, whom he meets in the FOX-televised co-headliner of Saturday’s event at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

“It’s a part of this game,” Lamas said. “The fight game is very unpredictable, so you’ve got to roll with the punches. You have no other choice. I can’t just sit here and throw a tantrum like a little kid. I’ve just got to suck it up and keep doing what I’ve been doing, which is finishing fights.”

Lamas’ two most recent opponents, Charles Oliveira and Jason Knight, didn’t make it the distance, bringing to six the number of stoppages under his watch. Knight came into his bout with Lamas as a promising up-and-comer with four straight wins, and he left with a first-round TKO loss.

Emmett carries a 2-1 octagon record into the fight, which puts him in the category of another prospect Lamas must silence to keep in the running for a title.

Lamas shrugs at buzz over Brian Ortega as the next potential title contender to the featherweight title after Edgar. Ortega wowed fans with a submission of Cub Swanson at this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 123, but Lamas didn’t watch it live.

“I don’t like talking past fights,” he said. “I’m not even thinking about a title fight right now, because I have somebody in front of me that I have to get through first. I’m sure I’ll have plenty to say about it on Saturday, barring that the fight goes my way and I perform well. Saturday I’ll have plenty to say. You’ll just have to tune in then.”

And while luck hasn’t been on his side when it comes to withdrawals, Lamas points out that can easily turn around. With so many injury withdrawals, he plans to stay in shape so he might get a short-notice opportunity that catapults him up the rankings.

When Edgar fell out, he got on Twitter and called for a rematch with Holloway, who beat him by decision in a thriller this past year.

“I was ready to jump in there,” Lamas said. “It was something that I would have done, and something that I will do in the future.”

For more on UFC on FOX 26, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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Filed under: News, UFC, Videos