Hector Lombard Signs with the UFC

[Turd Ferguson]

One of the biggest stories coming out of this week is that the UFC officially signed Hector Lombard to a contract.

If you don't know who Hector Lombard is, he's 31-2-1 (1 NC). He hasn't lost since November 2006, a decision loss to Gegard Mousasi. He was the former Bellator Middleweight Champion, and some in the MMA blogosphere have compared him to Mike Tyson... he has extremely explosive power. In addition to being a terror on the feet, he is also a very accomplished Judoka, having competed in the Olympics, and is also a BJJ Black Belt.

Lombard is a very complete fighter and at 34 years old, it's now or never for him. He holds victories over fighters like Trevor Prangley, Jesse Taylor, Joe Doerksen, Kalib Starnes, James Te-Huna, and Brian Ebersole, and has decision losses early in his career to Akihiro Gono and Mousasi. He went to a draw against Kyle Noke.

One knock against Lombard is the fact that for the most part, he hasn't really fought any names. Yes, the record is impressive, and yes, the manner of how he's finished his opponents is definitely impressive as well. Lombard is no doubt, a finisher. However when the most successful name on your list of victims is Brian Ebersole, it definitely is going to make one question how he's going to not only stack up against guys like Chael Sonnen, Mark Munoz, Michael Bisping, and Vitor Belfort, but also guys who are in the middle of the pack like Brian Stann, Chris Leben, Ed Herman, and Rousimar Palhares.

There's no doubt that Dana is going to give Lombard a big fight for his UFC Debut. I would probably guess that he's about two wins away from a title shot. I would love to see him against Brian Stann right away in what would be a hell of a slugfest. I also think Jake Shields provides an interesting fight for him. Lombard has never faced a pure grappler like Shields who could definitely give him problems on the ground.

Middleweight is definitely in need of a shot in the arm and an interesting name, and Lombard definitely provides that to the division. I don't see him being a title contender though. I think running into legitimate opponents in the UFC will give him fits.

 

[INDYjon22]

Solid pickup for the UFC, huge loss for Bellator. Lombard was one of the cornerstones of Bellator, along with Eddie Alvarez. To lose him, is to lose the second biggest draw in the company. Granted Bellator is developing fighters who are becoming names, but Lombard was certainly at the top of the heap for Bellator. That said, I am excited to see how he does in the UFC. I think he could make an impact and Dana will certainly give him that opportunity. I guarantee he gets thrown to the wolves early and we will find out if he has what it takes to compete with the best Middleweights in the world. At the very least he should have some fun wars with Palhares, Leben, Miller, and Stann.

 

[Fizzy]

Shields would be a great first fight because you are guaranteed a quick, gruesome KO, probably even worse than Ellenberger/Shields. Shields has nothing for anybody with a shred of TDD and striking power and Lombard has both of those in heaps. Personally, i'd opt for Lombard/Stann, or Lombard/Bisping.

With the Stann fight, we will see one of two things, a potential slug fest between two guys with great chins and huge power, possibly resulting in KO of the year, or fight of the year. The second option would be, Lombard takes Stann down and subs him within a round. Lombard never really shows his ground game or takedowns because he has so much power on the feet, but make no mistake, Lombard can quite easily take Stann down and sub him. No way Stann has improved enough to hang with Hector on the ground.

With the Bisping fight, we will see Hector against a style he has never faced before, that could potentially give him huge problems. Bisping has a three inch reach advantage over Hector and will look to stay on the outside and pick Lombard apart. This is a style that Bisping has nearly perfected. It'd be a great fight to see how Hector can deal with needing to close the distance, and would give us a very clear picture as to where he ranks in the MW division.

At the end of the day, the UFC just took one of Bellator's top two stars, somebody who fans have wanted to see against good competition for years. Indy, I know you love Bellator, but Lombard was wasting away there fighting the definition of cans and defending his belt, what, once since 2009? The guy has moved onto bigger and better things and i'm ecstatic to see where he goes.

 

[BaconBits]

I have a feeling he gets smoked in his UFC debut, and people will instantly declare him "exposed" and "massively overrated".

But I don't think that's the case. I do feel that his record is somewhat padded recently (of course, you can do that with tons of fighters), but he's got beastly skills.

I just feel he will lose because of nerves, a pretty radical step up in competition over recent opponents, and he'll be a little wreckless trying to impress right off the bat.

Once he gets that out of his system, I expect him to come back better than ever and be title contender for sure.

 

[Pedigree1]

Huge Loss for Bellator and huge gain for the UFC!! This guy has got beastly skills and yes he is 34 so its now or never for him! Maybe feed him bisping i feel that be the best coming out party for this guy! He has run roughshot and its time for him to step up to the big leagues!! Shields i feel beats him but i think he can take out Bisping and even Chael

 

[JWGunslinger]

It was only a matter of time before this bad boy got his call to the UFC, well SUCK IT Bellator because he aint yours anymore! Hector is exactly what the middleweight division needed right now, it's finally becoming an interesting division again and he's come at just the right time to make some waves. His fight with Stann at UFC on Fox 4 is sure to be a great fight and he's possibly looking at a title shot following a win, ofcourse I'll be rooting for brian there but I really would love to see Lombard fight for the title, he's got such an entertaining style and impressive resume that he'd give us one of the best Anderson fights we've ever seen, cant wait to see what he can do.