MMA Gospel

Lombard is crowned the first Bellator Middleweight Champion with a TKO victory over Jared Hess. (Photo Courtesy of Bellator)

Just over a year-and-a-half ago, “Shango” Hector Lombard (27-2) was  a name that was known only by hardcore fans and the few people who followed his dominant performances in lesser known Australian organizations.  Get ready for that to change. In addition to being an elite mixed martial artist, Lombard is also a multiple-time Cuban National Judo Champion and former member of the Cuban Olympic Judo team.  He is the first and current Bellator Middleweight Champion as well as the reigning 185lb. champion of the Australia-based Cage Fighting Championships.

Lombard currently trains at the prestigious American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida and resides in Sydney, Australia, which has been a second home to him for the past decade.  Since 2004 he spent the majority of his MMA career in The Land Down Under until he went international with his aggressive style in 2006.  The Judo champion was virtually unknown to American MMA fans until April 2009 when he made his Bellator debut with an explosive knockout victory over Virgilio Lozano Soto (6-2).  Some still doubted the Cuban black horse even in the wake of his astonishing US debut.  His critics were quieted to a whisper after he blasted through the rest of the middleweight tournament and claimed the Bellator Middleweight Championship with calm but destructive power.  Lombard’s incredible aggression and brutal knockout power has led him to amass a 19-fight, four-year-long winning streak and has made one thing certain – those who see him fight either for the first time or the tenth won’t forgot Hector Lombard and the energy he prompts from the audience. Continue reading »