Bellator 24 Preview: Lombard deserves step up in competition
by Matt Bishop on Aug 11, 2010 2:28 PM EDT
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Hector Lombard has not lost in his last 19 fights.
The Cuban-born fighter is 18-0-1 in those past 19, but when he fights Herbert Goodman on Thursday at Bellator 24, he'll walk into the cage as a one of the biggest betting favorites of the year. As of press time, Lombard is a -1500 favorite while Goodman is a +750 underdog.
Now, there's nothing wrong with a gimme fight now and again, but during his four (going on five) fight tenure in Bellator, Lombard's only been out of the first round once (against Jared Hess) and beat his last opponent, late replacement Jay Silva, in six seconds.
Lombard, the promotion's middleweight champion, is too good of a fighter to be fighting some of the competition he's been fighting lately.
Of course, Lombard was supposed to make his UFC debut at UFC 78 back in November 2007, but that was squashed when he couldn't get a visa. That's the level of competition Lombard needs, the UFC level.
Lombard has one test remaining in Bellator: That of middleweight tournament champion Alexander Shlemenko, who has won 15 of his last 16 fights, including a first-round TKO of Bryan Baker in June to win the tournament.
Fans can only begin to hope that Bellator can acquire some of the better free agent middleweights out there to compete with Lombard. The problem with that, however, is that middleweight is the weakest of all the major weight classes and most of the talent is locked up in either the UFC or Strikeforce, leaving few real options for Bellator and Lombard.
The best fight to book would probably be to retry the fight against Paulo Filho, which was supposed to happen when Lombard fought Silva in May. But as we've all come to know (and love), any fight involving Filho instantly becomes an adventure. I'm not holding my breath on this one.
But after Shlemenko and possibly Filho, it anybody's guess where Lombard's career goes. As it stands right now, his talents are largely being wasted — and that's a shame.
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Bellaotr 24 Preview: Lombard deserves step up in competition
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum." ~ Roddy Piper
dont mind me
im at home, bored…and fooling :) thanks for allowing me this forum for childish antics
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum." ~ Roddy Piper
by RearNakedPoke on Aug 11, 2010 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions
haha cool, on your article though
any idea can he resolve his visa issue? whats the deal with it?
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum." ~ Roddy Piper
by RearNakedPoke on Aug 11, 2010 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, he is fighting in the US for Bellator, so he must be able to fight in America now. Of the many things I’m not an expert on, visas are one of them, so I’ll defer to anybody who knows.
thanks bro
"I'm sore, tired, under the weather, overtrained and undermotivated, and still tough enough to beat this guy." ~ The One & Only
by RearNakedPoke on Aug 11, 2010 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions
this
really don’t want Ninja Rua getting crushed by a killer like Lombard
I throw raps that attack like the Japs on Pearl Harbor/MC's be out like bank robbers/Fleeing the scene, to be a sole survivor/DJ the getaway driver/Tried to dip but he dive, I socialize on vocal vibes/On tracks stabbed up with razor sharp knives
by Anthony Pace on Aug 11, 2010 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions
He's too little if you ask me. He's like the size of Thiago Alves, A Nate, or a Rich would prolly tear him up.
Ride the Tiger!
by doonerthesooner on Aug 11, 2010 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions
size . . . size . . . size schmize.
Mike Tyson was a small heavyweight fighter with a short reach.
- - - - -
VEe is ANIMated!
by VeeisAnimated on Aug 11, 2010 7:29 PM EDT up reply actions
He also fought in a week era for the HW division
I throw raps that attack like the Japs on Pearl Harbor/MC's be out like bank robbers/Fleeing the scene, to be a sole survivor/DJ the getaway driver/Tried to dip but he dive, I socialize on vocal vibes/On tracks stabbed up with razor sharp knives
by Anthony Pace on Aug 11, 2010 7:40 PM EDT up reply actions
*weak
I throw raps that attack like the Japs on Pearl Harbor/MC's be out like bank robbers/Fleeing the scene, to be a sole survivor/DJ the getaway driver/Tried to dip but he dive, I socialize on vocal vibes/On tracks stabbed up with razor sharp knives
by Anthony Pace on Aug 11, 2010 7:40 PM EDT up reply actions
There are many other examples of where there’s a huge difference in size. Yeah, I’m a Tyson fan but I know his record like many others were padded to tell a story but that still doesn’ t mean he wasn’t handling his business against bigger men.
- - - - -
VEe is ANIMated!
by VeeisAnimated on Aug 12, 2010 3:33 AM EDT up reply actions
Thales Leites is available.
I throw raps that attack like the Japs on Pearl Harbor/MC's be out like bank robbers/Fleeing the scene, to be a sole survivor/DJ the getaway driver/Tried to dip but he dive, I socialize on vocal vibes/On tracks stabbed up with razor sharp knives
Boy...
We’re really scraping the bottom here of the challenger list when we’re suggesting Thales Leites as a potential opponent.
He’s got a couple decent wins. Marquardt comes to mind. In all honesty, if it were most any other fighter than Thales Leites they wouldn’t have been cut after the Sakara loss.
But you’re right about MW being so thin… If Silva doesn’t have many contenders, who outside the UFC does?
I throw raps that attack like the Japs on Pearl Harbor/MC's be out like bank robbers/Fleeing the scene, to be a sole survivor/DJ the getaway driver/Tried to dip but he dive, I socialize on vocal vibes/On tracks stabbed up with razor sharp knives
by Anthony Pace on Aug 11, 2010 6:34 PM EDT up reply actions
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