On Friday, Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard scored a first round TKO victory over UFC veteran Joe Doerksen at Cage Fighting Championships in Sydney.
With the victory, Lombard successfully defended his CFC middleweight title and extended his undefeated streak to 22-straight fights. A three-fight losing streak for Doerksen drops his career record to 46-15.
According to a Sherdog report, Lombard attacked with a vicious set of punches of elbows that opened a cut in Doerksen’s hairline.
The blood flowed quickly, and before long Percival called the doctor into the cage to inspect the damage: the cut was two-and-a-half inches long, and the ringside physician remarked that he could see Doerksen’s skull. The bout was then mercifully stopped, prompting a loud chorus of boos from the crowd.
Lombard will return to action against Falaniko Vitale in a non-title fight at Bellator 44, which takes place May 14 in Atlantic City, N.J. The Cuban Olympian won the title in 2009 by winning the first Bellator middleweight tournament. Last October, he successfully defended his title for the first time against Alexander Shlemenko.
The promotion is currently hosting tournaments in the light heavyweight, welterweight, lightweight and featherweight divisions. A bracket to determine the next challenger for Lombard title is expected to highlight the promotion’s fifth season this summer.