Jul 142011
MMA Gospel’s Matt Homeyer chatted with Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard about where he stands amongst the top 185ers in the world. (Photo courtesy of Bellator)
“Shango” Hector Lombard (27-2) is a name that has been on the lips of MMA fans more and more recently and oddly enough it hasn’t been to talk about another one of “Shango’s” highlight reel knockouts, but rather the fact that the Bellator Middleweight Champion called out “The Great” Nate Marquardt (31-10) shortly after Nate’s release from the UFC. Lombard, who is considered by many fans to be one of the most dangerous strikers in the sport, seemed to jump at the fact that Marquardt had been released by the world’s premier mixed martial arts promotion and was almost instantly looking to fight against the former UFC middleweight contender. Just days after Lombard called out the former top contender, Matt Homeyer of MMA Gospel talked to the current Bellator champ about what drew him into MMA, the upcoming Bellator Season 5 tournament, and, of course, Nate Marquardt.
Everyone seems to have their own personal story of how they got into MMA. What is it that drew you to the sport?
I didn’t know to do anything else, to be honest. When I came to Australia life was really tough on me so I had to work a few hours to make money and I decided to start fighting to get some money.
How do you prepare yourself mentally and physically in the moments before stepping into the cage?
I love to do it, it’s like some people love what they do for work and some people don’t. In my case I love what I do. My job is fighting.
Are there any pre-fight traditions or rituals that you have?
No, not really.
You have fought numerous times in Australia and hold the CFC middleweight championship belt. In your experience, how does MMA in The Land Down Under differ from MMA in the United States?
There isn’t a big difference – when the cage closes it’s the same thing. I love to fight over there because that’s where I started my fighting career but I love fighting [in the US], also.
Having competed in MMA fights, Muay Thai fights, and Olympic-level Judo. which was the hardest to train for and why?
The hardest one was the Judo because I had to cut a lot of weight. I used to compete at 73 kilos [160lbs.] and weighed the same then that I weigh now, 90 kilos [198 lbs.].
Do you feel that being known as a dangerous striker causes a lot of people to look past your Judo skills in the cage?
I don’t call myself a Judo fighter anymore. If you see me fight I don’t use Judo that much.
Fans don’t often see a lot of the big hip throws and leg sweeps in MMA competition that Judo is known for, even from top-level Judoka. Do you feel this is because many Judo attacks simply aren’t practical without a gi or is it just that many fans and commentators are missing something?
Judo is a very different sport from MMA – you have to wear the gi. If you remember back in the days of PRIDE, a lot of those guys competed with the gi because it was easier to get the chokes and the throws with the gi better than without the gi.
Hector Lombard (white trunks) took some heat from detractors for the manner in which he fought Alexander Shlemenko (black trunks) at Bellator 34, and explained his approach to MMA Gospel. (Photo courtesy of Dave Mandel and Sherdog)
Speaking of style, you have gotten some heat for supposedly changing your style of fighting in your Bellator match-ups against Alexander Shlemenko and Falaniko Vitale. Did you change your game plan for these fights to test out a new method or out of respect for your opponents’ skills, or did you approach those fights the same as you have others?
Well when I fought Shlemenko, I was sick. I had the flu and I was very dizzy, to be honest, so my game plan was to go out there and put him away quickly or just try to out-wrestle him after that. I didn’t want to take any chances of getting hit. When you are sick and you have the flu, with a little hit you go down. I’ve been training with boxers for a long time and they’re always telling me: When you’re sick you cant take punches. I didn’t want to take a risk so I tried to play the fight safe.
Do you feel any added pressure to change what you have been doing in the cage because fans are always expecting you to get the first-round KO, even though such expectations may be unrealistic?
They see my highlight tapes so obviously they like the style, they like seeing a guy getting knocked out. My last fight [against Falaniko Vitale] was the best fight I’ve ever had in my whole life – for me it was the best fight I ever had. He was criticizing me saying This guy’s a joke. He beat Yushin Okami, so Yushin Okami is a joke, too. Now Yushin Okami is gonna fight for the belt. They’re always saying something. I cant please everybody.
You are slated to defend your belt against the winner of the Bellator Season 5 Middleweight Tournament. Who do you feel would be the biggest challenge for you out of that field of competitors? (Bryan Baker, Vitor Vianna, Alexander Shlemenko, Jared Hess, Sam Alvey, Brian Rogers, and Zelg Galesic are all slated to compete, and the tournament is rumored to also feature Dan Cramer).
It’s going to be a tough fight for me, whoever wins the season.
During his time with MMA Gospel, “Shango” Hector Lombard (left) discussed his thoughts on the Bellator tournament system and how he thinks it can be improved. (Photo courtesy of Bellator)
What is your take on Bellator’s tournament style? Do you think the promotion’s champions are given enough opportunities to fight?
The tournaments should be a little bit quicker so it would give [the champions] more of a chance to fight. But the concept of the Bellator tournament is good because you got guys that come from nowhere and the best will win so it’s not like having the trainer or promoter who he is going to match you up with. It’s about the fighters and whoever wins is the champion. The same with football or basketball – they’re all counting the record and whoever’s the best goes ahead and whoever is losing doesn’t belong in the tournament.
You recently called out “The Great” Nate Marquardt following his release from the UFC. Do you see this fight materializing anytime in the near future and what prompted you to call him out?
He’s a big name out there, why not? I want to prove a point with Nate that I’m going to knock him out. I’m challenging him and I hope that fight happens so after that beating they can’t say nothing. That’s my point. I hope he’s willing to do the fight and make the fans happy. It would make me happy and I can prove my point. I can prove that I am the best.
Does Marquardt bring any particular tools to the table that you feel would deserve special attention in your training camp?
Not really. His takedowns and ground game are good. I’d stand up with him; if he punches me I won’t go the ground. I’m stronger and faster than he is, so I don’t know what he would bring.
How do you think you would match up with Nate, and what are your predictions on how that fight would go?
I would KO him.
Is there anyone else in the world that you’re really itching to fight?
Nate Marquardt, he is the guy that I really want to fight. He’s a big name and he has to prove me right. After that I don’t know. I don’t have any plans other than winning the Bellator championship again.
Anyone in your weight class you would just simply not want to fight?
No, I would love to fight everybody but it would be stupid for me to challenge somebody from another organization because you know and I know that will never happen. If a fighter is under contract [with another promotion] a fight with him will never happen. I challenged Nate Marquardt because he’s not with UFC anymore. There is no way that UFC or Strikeforce would have let that happen otherwise. It’s just stupidity to challenge a fighter from another organization. Nate Marquardt is no longer UFC so I have a chance to fight a tough opponent. That fight can happen.
Bellator 185lbs. king Hector Lombard (blue gloves) stated that a bout with UFC veteran “The Great” Nate Marquardt would justify his place as a top middleweight among many pundits who he feels don’t give Bellator champions the respect they deserve. (Photo courtesy of Keith Mills and Sherdog)
As the Bellator 185lbs. champion, where do you feel that puts you in comparison to the other middleweight fighters in the world?
Well you know the UFC is always going to be the number one show and then Strikeforce and now Bellator is coming up. Which means, no matter who you beat you’re always going to be behind those two organizations. But I definitely feel that with me beating Nate Marquardt, I can be right there.
Do you feel that a Bellator champ doesn’t get the respect and recognition they deserve in comparison to the champions of the larger organizations like Strikeforce and the UFC?
Yeah, I definitely believe that. We get no respect, man.
The UFC has expressed notable interest in adding you to their middleweight roster. Are you interested in signing with them?
I’ve got to be focused on Bellator, the organization that I fight in now. There is no point for me to make any comment on that right now. I fight for Bellator so I’m just trying to get that fight with Nate. So we’ll go from there.
Let’s say you were to sign with the UFC. The promotion requires exclusivity from their fighters, which means that you would not be able to defend your CFC championship. Would you be willing to vacate your title?
I don’t know, man, to be honest.
Theoretically speaking, if you signed with a Zuffa promotion, how do you think your fights against their 185lbs. champions, Anderson Silva and Ronaldo Souza, would go?
I’d beat both those guys, too.
One last question before we say goodbye, Hector: Who’s going to win, Fedor or Henderson?
I think that Hendo will beat him.
Are there are any sponsors you want to mention/thank?
Yeah, I want to say thank you to Everlast and all my sponsors.
