For making his debut against seasoned and well-rounded veteran Bart Palaszewski on five days notice, it's difficult to not be impressed with Ricardo Lamas. With only five professional fights on his resume prior to last night, Lamas still lacks experience as well as a complete enough stand-up game that allows him the ability to do more than to use exchanges on the feet as a stop-gap for inevitable takedowns. But Lamas also has quite a few positives: pinpoint accuracy as well as considerable power in his GNP, solid takedowns, a usable gas tank, defensive adaptability, improvisation and confidence. There's still a very open question about how he'll respond to fighters who nullify Lamas' stifling wrestling, but if given time it's reasonable to expect Lamas to add more well-roundedness to his game.

Trying to gauge a fighter's ability to perform on the big stage when they are making the leap from regional shows can often be dicey, but Lamas appears primed for a run in the WEC provided he's granted graduated matchmaking. His talent is considerable and I know I speak on behalf of a significant portion of the MMA community when I say I look forward to discovering precisely what he's capable of doing.