While Anderson Silva‘s reign of terror continues inside the UFC octagon, Hector Lombard’s stock is slowly rising on the outside.
The Bellator middleweight champion submitted “Ultimate Fighter” Season 7 finalist Jesse Taylor on Saturday at Australian Fighting Championships 2 in a bout that added another name to an already extensive résumé.
Taylor, a former NCAA Division I wrestler, was no match for Lombard, who utilized his strong Judo-based hips to fend off takedown attempts.
With his wrestling shut down, the UFC castoff spent the majority of his time underneath the brutish Cuban, eating elbows and punches.
The curtains closed on the main event bout when Lombard countered a leg lock attempt with a nasty heel hook that forced Taylor to tap at 1:26 of the second round.
Lombard has long been considered one of the best middleweights in the world, but he hasn’t really had the opportunity to showcase his talents on a mainstream stage. He hasn’t lost a fight in nearly five years, and he’s riding a 23-fight win streak.
With Silva making mincemeat out of UFC contenders, some have already started to rally behind Lombard as a viable threat to the pound-for-pound kingpin’s throne.
“I wouldn’t be frightened of him,” said Lombard, when asked how he would do against Silva. “I would go in there to take his head off.”
Most publications have Lombard listed as a top-10 middleweight. As with Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, it makes sense for the UFC to acquire Lombard’s services. His jarring power and strong grappling base should make him an instant contender in the UFC’s middleweight division.
Can he beat Silva?
This remains to be seen.
It hardly needs to be said, but Anderson Silva is not Jesse Taylor.
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