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CHICAGO – Former 145-pound title challenger Ricardo Lamas was the the fighter that Mirsad Bektic had in front of him on Saturday.

But, as Bektic (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) battled his way to a split-decision win over Lamas (18-7 MMA, 9-5 UFC) in the FS1-televised preliminary card UFC 225 bout, he kept another opponent in mind.

“It’s a fight that was really reminding me of that Darren Elkins fight,” Bektic told reporters backstage at United Center in Chicago. “With Darren Elkins, I was winning by a landslide, in every round. And I kept pressing the action, because I have a me-me mentality when I’m fighting, when I’m training. I’m very competitive. So I don’t want to give the guy an inch to breathe.”

That Elkins fight, of course, didn’t end well for Bektic. He entered it as a 7-1 favorite and lived up to that status for the first two rounds, until Elkins saw an opening and took it. “The Damage” ended up knocking Bektic out in the third round of the UFC 209 encounter that became an easy pick for MMAjunkie’s “Comeback of the Year.”

Having fought the way he did only to give it away at the end is something that Bektic admits “hurt me, emotionally.” But there’s something to be said for hard lessons, and it seems Bektic had learned his as he went up against a perennial contender Saturday.

“It was very important to show my championship material in the Lamas fight,” Bektic said. “I was thinking about (ex-two-division champ) Georges St-Pierre. He’s such a champion, he knows when to push, when to stop. That was in my mind and so was the Elkins (fight) – not overpressing, not being overaggressive.”

It wasn’t easy, but Bektic came out on top. And with a knockout win over Godofredo Pepey in February, he’s now two fights removed from the first setback of his professional career. Now, Bektic says, he’s not only back where he needs to be – he’s just where he needs to be, period, with his camp and the people around him.

At 27, Bektic has long been hailed as one of the division’s exciting prospects. He doesn’t really mind the label – which he remembers already being in place in 2014. But after a win over the No. 5 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings, the word “contender” might be a more fitting descriptor.

“For sure, I beat the No. 7 guy (in the UFC’s official rankings),” Bektic said. “And I feel like that puts me in the No. 7 spot. It just makes sense. Everybody who I fought, I can’t remember anybody who really gave me a hard fight. Unless I’m mistaken, I think Lamas was the only guy who gave me a fight. And I still came out on top.”

As for what’s next, Bektic already gave us an idea in the octagon, when he brought up the name of a fellow UFC 225 winner in Charles Oliveira. The Brazilian, who tied an octagon record by beating Clay Guida on a short-notice fight, has found some success since repeated weight misses forced him up to lightweight – but is adamant on returning to the featherweight division.

Bektic, of course, could have picked an opponent who’s currently in the 145-pound rankings. But, focused on not fighting someone coming off a loss, he wouldn’t mind welcoming “Do Bronx” back.

“I overheard him saying after his fight that he wants to win the title at 145,” Bektic said. “I’m right there. And, if he wants it, he can get it.”

Oliveira’s past problems with the scale – he missed weight for five fights – make him an interesting choice of opponent for Bektic, who didn’t hold back when asked about the most recent weigh-in debate.

Bektic, who’s worked with nutrition expert Mike Dolce since 2014, has never missed weight. Asked whether he preferred the early weigh-ins that are currently in place, versus the evening format that UFC president Dana White insists is in the interest of “the majority of fighters,” Bektic had a stern message for his colleagues.

“It seems like the top dogs in the UFC are missing weight,” Bektic said. “They’re hanging out during fight week, looking fly, where maybe they should be resting and prepping for their weight cut. I think professionals have got to be professionals.

“If we do the evening weigh-ins – I don’t even know how we can do that again. Or how we did it before. Like last night, we came in to face-off in the evening, we got in 4:30, we probably didn’t face off until 7, left by 7:30, you have enough time to eat one meal, a little snack and you’re back to bed. That’s not much of a re-hydration. I think guys just need to get their stuff together.

“They need to be professionals. Pay the professionals. It’s a professional sport, so you’ve got to treat it like that. If you need somebody to help you, go out and get a professional to help you. I do it. And if I can do it, they can do it.”

To hear from Bektic, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of UFC 225, check out the UFC Events section of the site.