UFC: Ricardo Lamas gets his fighting spirit from his Cuban father

MMA Fighting
By Dave Meltzer 

Ricardo Lamas father fought for and then against Castro/
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Ricardo Lamas, who faces Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight tile in Saturday's UFC 169 show, is the son of a man who was involved in the Cuban revolution that helped put Fidel Castro in power, but then rallied against Castro, barely escaping Cuba with his life, and becoming a U.S. TV executive.

There's no secret where Ricardo Lamas got his fighting spirit from. It's hereditary, on his father's side.

Lamas, the son of an outspoken Cuban underground freedom fighter turned American television executive, challenges UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo at Saturday's UFC 169. It's a title shot he's waited a year for, with a lot of that period being very frustrating. But in hindsight, he thinks it has all worked out for the best.

Ricardo, known by his family as Ricky, seems calm going into the biggest fight of his life. But his father, Jose, who has been through real life-and-death situations, is far more nervous.

"I was running around doing things, putting together the banner, the torch, and I was shaking," Jose Lamas said on Wednesday night, before getting ready to leave Chicago for the fight. "I took two bites of my sandwich and I couldn't eat. I'm nervous about him going into any fight. I think he has a great chance to win this fight. I think he's going to win this fight, but it makes me very tense. It's like a war inside my body."

Jose Lamas was a teenage college student in the 1950s. At the time of the Cuban revolution, he fought for and backed Fidel Castro, thinking he would bring democracy to their country after the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. But he felt double-crossed when Castro instead went with a communistic government. Jose Lamas helped start an underground movement against Castro, using the code name of Bonifacio.

"I had strong feelings about the situation under Batista," he said. "I participated, in 1958, in a strike against the regime of Batista. In 1959, Castro took over. I became a teacher. I realized that the revolution was to create a communist state. We opposed Batista for the lack of freedom. I felt betrayed. For the same reason, I opposed Batista, I joined forces with a group of high school students and university students and we founded a revolutionary movement. I joined farmers, professionals, workers and students. I was in the students sector. I was the national head of the students revolutionary movement.

"In the beginning of the revolution, Castro put on the front that he was going to create a democracy," said Ricardo Lamas. "A lot of Cubans helped in the revolution but found out they were brainwashed or tricked. When my dad realized what was going on, and Castro showed his true colors, my Dad switched sides. He founded a group of students. They started an underground movement against Fidel Castro and the revolution. They started doing their thing, speaking out against the government. They handed out newspapers, tried to take over radio stations and broadcast their message to the people. That's extremely dangerous to do in Cuba."

After participating in an event in 1962, he realized that his life was in jeopardy.

"At the time, the Cuban government had infiltrated my dad's group of underground people," said Ricardo Lamas. "My dad got out and his second in command took over. His second in command was caught, tried, sentenced and executed in the span of 23 days."

Through a connection, Jose Lamas obtained refuge at the Brazilian embassy in Cuba. There were only a few embassies in the country because very few countries still had diplomatic relations with Castro. After getting refuge, he left Brazil for Chicago and started a family of six boys, Ricardo being the youngest.

"Isn't it funny that my son is fighting a Brazilian?", said Jose Lamas. "They saved my life. Even though the government of Brazil was friendly with Castro, they gave me protection and allowed me to leave Cuba."

His father, who at first didn't like wrestling, and later didn't really like MMA, is proudest of the fact that his son never quits.

"He has a great heart," said Jose Lamas. "Ricardo is very courageous, very creative, and doesn't give up. He has never been submitted. He has never lost a fight by decision. He doesn't talk trash and he doesn't like losing at all. If you want to beat him, you have to take out his heart.  He's not going to ever surrender. He's not going to ever give up. He will face Aldo anywhere Aldo wants, and he will take advantage of anything that happens."

After Jose Lamas came to Chicago, he started working in Spanish language radio in 1967, and moved to television in 1974. When Ch. 44 in Chicago became the city's first full-time Spanish language station, he was hired first as General Sales Manager in 1985. Two years later he was the General Manger of the station. He had a reputation for always saying what he thought and fighting for his beliefs. When Telemundo bought the station in 1997, a series of disputes he said made it very easy for him to leave after a few months.

"Growing up, I saw my dad get into plenty of altercations," said Ricardo Lamas. "He's a guy who is never going to be disrespected. He's never going to be talked down to. If he's got a problem with you, he'll tell you to your face. You have to respect a guy like that. They say what they mean and they mean what they say."

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