UFC Fight Night 104 winner Ricardo Lucas Ramos thankful for previous encounters with Dana White

HOUSTON – What a difference a year has made in the life of UFC Fight Night 104 winner Ricardo Lucas Ramos.

In February 2016 at Legacy FC 51, Ramos suffered his first professional loss under the watchful eyes of UFC President Dana White and his “Lookin’ for a Fight” digital-show crew. Six months later, however, Ramos got a chance to redeem himself. And this time, with White’s eyes actually on his opponent, he made the most of it with a second-round submission win at an NEF event.

Now, as he celebrates a victorious UFC debut almost exactly one year after that first setback, Ramos is both appreciative of the difficult road he’s taken thus far and optimistic for the one that lies ahead.

“That experience made me better today,” Ramos said. “I have to thank Dana White for having showed up in my life before, and today I was able to work with a lot more calmness and confidence.

“It’s been a very hard walk. I started very young, so now here I am at 21. I’m very happy with that and the work has just started. I know I have a long path ahead of me. I want to win the belt. I will conquer the belt. In a short time, I’ll be at the top of the division, and I will use all the tools I have at hand in order to make it.”

Ramos (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) beat Michinori Tanaka (11-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) with 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 scorecards in a bantamweight scrap featured on the preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 104 event at Toyota Center in Houston. It aired on FS1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on FS1.

While he laments not getting the finish after rocking Tanaka in the opening frame, Ramos sees his victorious debut as a “great accomplishment,” and in spite of Tanaka’s shock as the result was read, he said he was ultimately in control of the scrap.

“I thought his striking was predictable,” Ramos said. “I already expected everything that he did on the feet. But on the ground I felt his strength. I felt he was a stronger guy. But I was able to overcome and dominate the fight until the end.”

It’s clear Ramos has high expectations for himself when it comes to his not-so-distant UFC future. But as far as the immediate one goes, he just wants to “keep growing” and hopefully make a quick turnaround against, basically, whomever.

“I’m going to go home, rest and be with my family for a little while, but I want to come back soon,” Ramos said. “I want to feel this energy again as quickly as possible. I’ll rest a little and resume training stronger than ever, structure myself to have the best training possible, and be ready for the top of the UFC because that’s where I’m going to get.”

To hear more from Ramos, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage UFC Fight Night 104, check out the UFC Events section of the site.