Hatsu Hioki vs. Ricardo Lamas Booked for UFC on FX 4 in June

Ricardo Lamas (James Law/HeavyMMA)

Featherweights will meet on June 22 card in New Jersey

A bout featuring the fighter regarded by many to be the No. 2 featherweight in the world behind UFC champion Jose Aldo has been added to the UFC’s return to Atlantic City, N.J.

Hatsu Hiroki and Ricardo Lamas have been booked for a fight at UFC on FX: Maynard vs. Guida, which will take place June 22 at the new Revel resort. UFC officials late Wednesday announced the fight pairing for the card, revealing the matchup to FoxSports.com. The fight’s placement on the card was not announced.

Hioki (26-4-2, 2-0 UFC) came to the UFC after fighting the vast majority of his career in his native Japan, where he was the Sengoku featherweight champ and the Shooto lightweight titleholder. His UFC debut, though, fell short of the high expectations placed on him. He got past George Roop at UFC 137 with a controversial split decision win that many observers believe should have gone to Roop. At UFC 144 in Japan in February, Hioki beat Bart Palaszewski by unanimous decision.

Regardless, Hioki will bring a six-fight winning streak into his bout with Lamas, and he is 14-1-1 since late 2007. Hioki holds a pair of wins over recent UFC featherweight title challenger Mark Hominick, plus victories over Jeff Curran, Ronnie Mann and Marlon Sandro. Hioki said after his win over Palaszewski that he would prefer one more fight in the UFC, and then a possible title shot. Aldo may defend his belt next on June 23 in Brazil, the day after Hiroki’s fight with Lamas.

Lamas (11-2, 2-0) has found a new home at featherweight since coming to the UFC from the WEC, where he was 4-2 as a lightweight. “The Bully” won his featherweight debut with a first-round TKO of Matt Grice at UFC on Versus 4 last June. He followed that up with a Submission of the Night victory over Cub Swanson at the first UFC on Fox event in November. Lamas was scheduled to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 143 in February, filling in for an injured Erik Koch. But Lamas, too, had to pull out with an injury.

UFC on FX: Maynard vs. Guida, which will be the UFC’s fourth event to be broadcast live on the FX cable network, will take place at Ovation Hall at Revel, a 5,500-seat amphitheater. The main event for UFC on FX 4 will be a lightweight contenders bout between two-time title challenger Gray Maynard and Clay Guida. The fight will be a five-round bout. The card will be the UFC’s seventh in Atlantic City. The first three took place at the Trump Taj Mahal, followed by three at the Boardwalk Hall.

Apart from the Maynard-Guida main event, UFC on FX 4 features a trilogy rubber match between Spencer Fisher and Sam Stout, a featherweight bout between Ross Pearson and Cub Swanson and a featherweight fight between highly touted prospect Jimy Hettes and TUF product Steven Siler. New Jersey natives on the card include Dan Miller, Nick Catone and Rich Attonito.