Héctor Lombard

Héctor Lombard (born 2 February 1978) is a Cuban and Australian professional mixed martial artist, bodybuilder, and former Olympic judoka who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of Eagle FC.

Lombard has also competed in the middleweight and welterweight divisions.

Lombard is best known for his tenure in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and has also fought in Deep, Pride, and Bellator where he was the inaugural Bellator Middleweight Champion.

Lombard was born in Cuba and represented his nation of birth at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in lightweight division of the Judo competition, a sport in which he is a fourth degree black belt.

While in Australia, he met his future wife and the two decided to settle on the Gold Coast, where he began training with renowned kickboxer Nathan Corbett at Five Rings Dojo.

In 2006, Lombard and his wife welcomed their first child Leonardo to the world.

Lombard currently trains at the American Top Team facility in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Marcus "Conan" Silveira (ATT Head Coach) awarded Lombard with a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu following his victory at CFC 12.

In 2006, Lombard fought twice in PRIDE.

He lost both fights by unanimous decision, the first to Akihiro Gono and the second to Gegard Mousasi.

Lombard headlined the first Cage Fighting Championship show on 28 July 2007, where he fought top Australian fighter Kyle Noke.

The result was a controversial draw.

On 23 November 2007, Lombard defeated French kickboxer and actor, Jean-François Lénogue to be the CFC Middleweight Champion.

He has defended his title six times, with the last title defence coming against Art Santore.

On 18 April 2008, EliteXC released a press statement citing the signing of Héctor Lombard.

His first opponent was scheduled to be Scott Smith in November, but the fight was later cancelled after the collapse of the promotion.

On 6 January 2009, it was announced that Héctor Lombard had signed an exclusive agreement with Bellator Fighting Championships.

He fought and defeated Virgil Lozano and Damien Stelly to make it to the finals and fight for the first Bellator Middleweight Championship belt.

Lombard defeated Jared Hess via doctor stoppage in the fourth round to win the middleweight title.

Lombard was scheduled to face Paulo Filho in a non-title bout on 13 May 2010 at Bellator 18, but Filho pulled out of the bout on 10 May due to an alleged visa issue and was replaced by Jay Silva.

Lombard scored the fastest knockout in Bellator history by recording a six-second win, surpassing Eddie Sanchez and his ten-second KO win over Jay White.

Lombard then faced former NFL player Herbert Goodman in a non-title fight on 12 August 2010 at Bellator 24.

He won the fight via KO (punches) in the first round.

On 28 October 2010, Lombard defeated Alexander Shlemenko in a 1st season winner vs. a 2nd season winner matchup to retain the Bellator Middleweight Championship at Bellator 34.

He was the first man in Bellator history to successfully defend his title belt in any weight division.

Lombard next fought Falaniko Vitale in a non-title bout at Bellator 44.

He won via KO in third round.

Lombard next successfully defended his belt against UFC veteran Joe Doerksen at CFC 16 on 25 March 2011.

Lombard was scheduled to compete for the promotion at UFC 78, but was forced to withdraw due to visa issues.

Lombard fought in another non-title bout against Trevor Prangley at Bellator 58 on 19 November 2011.

Lombard won the fight via second-round TKO.

On 30 January 2012, Lombard's contract with Bellator expired.

Lombard also captured the inaugural Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) middleweight title when he submitted Jesse Taylor in the second round with a heel hook at AFC 2.

In the first and beginning of the second rounds, he used superior strength to out-grapple Taylor.

This victory would extend his winning streak to 24 wins

It was confirmed on 24 April 2012 that Héctor Lombard had signed with the UFC.

Lombard was expected to make his UFC debut against Brian Stann on 4 August 2012 at UFC on Fox 4.

However, Stann was forced out of the bout citing a shoulder injury.

In turn, Lombard was pulled from the card and instead faced Tim Boetsch on 21 July 2012 at UFC 149, replacing an injured Michael Bisping.

Even though Lombard scored a knockdown and a couple of takedowns, he lost the fight by split decision.