Whoever advised perennial lightweight journeyman Nik Lentz to drop down a division and fight at featherweight will be wearing a smug grin after his performance at UFC 150 on Saturday.
Lentz defeated Eiji Mitsuoka via first-round TKO in one of the best performances in his career and could become the next big thing at 145 pounds.
Certainly the fighter is brimming with confidence, telling interviewers after the fight that he’s a “completely different human being” at featherweight.
However, Mitsuoka was not the opponent to prove that. At 36, the Japanese fighter was also making his featherweight debut with a weight cut that was less kind to him.
To get to Jose Aldo, Lentz will have to go through the likes of Dennis Bermudez (also victorious at the weekend), Dustin Poirier (who has faltered once in his UFC career but has looked a compelling star nonetheless) and Chang Sung Jung (who now sits waiting for his own title shot).
And, with talks of Frankie Edgar dropping down, Lentz would certainly have his work cut out to reach the belt.
But the fighter clearly feels at home at featherweight in a way he’s never felt at 155. He himself seems to be in no doubt that he can mount a serious challenge at this weight.
The lightweight division is deep, and Lentz still has all to prove. But, at 27 with 28 professional bouts under his name, he is young enough and experienced enough to seriously make a mark at featherweight.
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