Hector Lombard announced earlier today that he has signed with the UFC via his Twitter account. ProMMAnow (www.prommanow.com) reported the possibility of Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney making the decision to re-sign Lombard to the organization, or to let him go and sign with the UFC on last night.
Rebney had communicated that he would make a decision swiftly as he owed it to Lombard since he had done a lot for the organization, and also had not fought since November 2011. According to MMAfighting.com who broke the story, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney refused to match the outstanding UFC deal because of PPV bonuses that were included in the contract. Bellator is not in the PPV business at this time as all of their events air on MTV2.
Lombard brings a great record of (32-2-1) including a record of (24-0-1) over the past five years, and will also institute new life in a UFC middleweight division that is aging a bit. When Rebney spoke with ProMMAnow last week, he stated that he believed Lombard would need 2-3 wins before getting a title shot in the UFC.
It’ll be interesting to see how the UFC brings him along. They usually require fighters of Lombard’s stature to win at least one fight in the UFC before challenging for a title. I’m sure some of that will hinge on the results of the much anticipated Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen rematch that will take place on July 7th at UFC 148.
The UFC has not officially announced the signing, nor have they announced potential fight dates or opponents for Lombard at this time. Be sure to stay close to ProMMAnow (www.prommanow.com) for future updates on this story.