Issue 092

September 2012

Hector Lombard is renowned as one of the most aggressive and violent fighters to step inside the cage – and now the Cuban Olympian is eager to bring that mean streak to the bright lights of the UFC

NAME HECTOR LOMBARD

AGE 34

STARTED 2004

TEAM American top team

DIVISION Middleweight

STYLE Judo/boxing

RECORD 31-2-1 (1 nc)

Hector Lombard is a man who says very little. The old tough guy quote thrown around so easily these days, ‘I let my hands do the talking,’ embodies the aura Lombard portrays. With 17 knockouts in 31 wins, his hands certainly make up for what his lips fail to reveal.

In an industry where trash talk has almost become a cliché, Lombard prefers to keep his words simple and minimal, making them even more meaningful and impactful when he eventually opens his mouth. And his quiet and unassuming persona outside of the ring is a million miles away from the beast that stalks within it. 

Lombard’s journey began back in Cuba during the 80s. As a child, life for Lombard wasn’t great, and when asked about his upbringing he replies by simply saying: “It was tough, brother. It was tough. But I’m here now.” He does confess there were good moments. Especially the times when he and his friends would eat sugar cane. But you can tell from his voice that life certainly wasn’t one littered with opportunity and affection.

Regardless of his upbringing, Lombard soon found a hobby that would pluck him away from the mean streets of Cuba and transport him around the world. Growing up in a nation that is perhaps most respected for it’s ability inside the boxing ring, you’d be forgiven in thinking that Lombard’s past is punctuated with stories of worn headguards and torn boxing gloves. But he explains to Fighters Only that boxing isn’t the only combat sport Cubans practice fervently.

“It really depends on what part of Cuba you live in. In some areas, boxing is really popular, but in other places judo is more popular,” says the former Bellator middleweight champion, who boasted a 31-2-1 (1 NC) MMA record heading into his July 21st UFC debut against Tim Boetsch.

“It really depends on what part of the country you’re in. In the place I was born, where I grew up, the most popular sport was judo so that’s what I took up.”

‘Took up’ is perhaps something of an understatement. ‘Excelled at’ seems more appropriate for a judoka who crushed almost everyone who stepped into his destructive path for 13 years. Lombard was so well respected and feared on the mats, he was eventually selected to represent Cuba in the 2000 Olympics Games in Sydney, Australia. Although, most former Olympians look back on their own Games experience with pride, Lombard doesn’t necessarily feel the same way.

“It was a good experience. It was exciting for me, but I had to cut a lot of weight so I was pretty sad all the time. Basically, during that time I weighed the same that I do today, so it was really hard for me to get down to 73kg,” recalls the 34-year-old. 

“Was going to the Olympics the proudest moment of my career? It may have been for others, but for me, no. Not really.”

Lombard failed to medal in Sydney and it hit him hard. He returned to Cuba and continued his dominance on the mats at domestic level. But something had changed. A new challenge was required and, after being impressed by the country on his first visit, in 2003 Lombard quit Cuba and returned to Australia to began his burgeoning career as a mixed martial artist.

Considered one of the main fighters to bring Australian MMA to the forefront, Lombard rapidly made a name for himself Down Under as a real star of the cage. When asked about how the sport has exploded in recent years in his adopted country, Lombard suddenly becomes the happiest man in the room.

“Man, I’m really surprised, but I’m also really happy about that. I remember when I started fighting people didn’t know what MMA was. When I told people they’d be shocked and would ask, ‘You do what?’ Now it’s become almost one of the country’s biggest sports.”

Fighting out of Australia presented Lombard with the perfect breeding ground to master his trade. On the domestic scene, he was practically untouchable, while infrequent forays over to Japan gave him the opportunity to test himself on Pride and Deep events amongst others. Although, it was his two appearances on the former, which led to his sole MMA defeats – the second of which was to former Strikeforce champ and 2009 Fighters Only World MMA Awards ‘European Fighter of the Year’ Gegard Mousasi.

Domestically, however, Lombard was untouchable. Only UFC regular Kyle Noke managed to garner a share of the spoils opposing Lombard, when they fought to a three-round draw in Sydney back in 2008. While other UFC regulars, like James Te Huna and Brian Ebersole, are included amongst a run of 24 victories that would eventually cause an impact on the far more lucrative US market.

Even though he loved Australia, when Bjorn Rebney and the Bellator Fighting Championship came calling, Lombard was more than happy to jump across the Pacific and begin the next stage in his career. After all, their tournament format suited the former Olympic judoka down to the ground.

“It was good money. They pay the fighters a lot of money,” he tells FO candidly. “For me, fighting three times in three months was fine. I come from a judo background, so every weekend I’d be fighting. I like to compete and I want to be active. If I could fight every month still I would.”

Lombard smashed his way through three opponents in three months to capture the Bellator middleweight tournament crown and vacant title belt. And with it came a career-best pay-day: a $100,000 check. He adds: “The money helped because it allowed me to help my family as they needed it. But I personally didn’t change. I stayed the same.”

And for every penny Bellator invested in him, he rewarded them with a succession of highlight-reel performances. His five-second knockout of Jay Silva, his brutalization of Falaniko Vitale and his most recent pounding victory over Trevor Prangley helped put Bellator on the map. Every fan who bought a ticket knew when Lombard fought there was a very strong possibility they’d see a show-stopping knockout. 

However, all good things must come to an end and at the start of the year, and after destroying all eight opponents Bellator fed to him, Lombard left the organization to become the latest high-profile addition to the UFC. “I’ve always wanted to fight in the UFC,” Lombard explains. “It’s the number-one organization in the world. No matter how good you are in Bellator, people are always going to look at you as if you’re second class because you haven’t fought the top guys. 

“Bellator treated me incredibly well whilst I was there, but I always wanted to fight in the UFC. Now that I’m there it’s like a dream come true.”

Top 10 contender Brian Stann was teed up to roll out the UFC welcome mat, but injury forced the former Marine out of action and initially Lombard, who admits it would have been a fantastic brawl between himself and Stann, knew exactly who he wanted as a replacement. “Bisping. I’ve asked for him for a while. Before I signed my contract with the UFC I asked for him, but he had his own fight scheduled so I couldn’t get it. I asked for him because he’s one of the biggest names in the UFC right now.

“If you consider all the big personalities at 185lb, you have Anderson Silva, Chael Sonnen and then Bisping. Fighting him would’ve made a statement and beating him would’ve made an even bigger statement,” Lombard says.

As it played out, Bisping would actually be ruled out of his own scheduled fight with Boetsch planned for UFC 149, which led to Lombard no longer headlining a UFC on Fox card, but actually making his debut two weeks earlier against Boetsch in Calgary. With the constant chopping and changing of opponents and schedules, you would think Lombard would be stressed. But typically, he insists he’s unfazed by it all.

“I just have to address a couple of things and then I’ll be okay. I’m a guy who is a complete fighter. If I have to fight Stann then I’m going be OK. If I have to fight Boetsch then I’m going to be OK,” he explains.

And despite the impending showdown with Boetsch, unbeaten since moving down to middleweight and looked great in doing so, Lombard has bigger fish to fry. He adds: “I think Sonnen and Silva are good matchups for me. As a fighter, I always want to fight the best, that’s why I moved to the UFC. Otherwise I would’ve stayed in Bellator as I was comfortable there. I know people say that I’m short, but I like to fight tall fighters so I think Sonnen and Silva work well for me.”

With all the cards on the table now for Lombard, the question had to be asked, how does the pressure of competing in the Olympics compare to the pressure of making your UFC debut? In typical fashion he answered the question succinctly and honestly.

“When you’re competing in the Olympics, it’s all about the Olympics,” he finishes. “However, when you’re competing in the UFC, it’s all about you. There’s a big difference between competing in the Olympics to competing in the biggest MMA organization in the world. Your own name is on the line, instead of the name of your country.”