Former Bellator Middleweight Champ Hector Lombard
A pair of middleweights will meet inside the Octagon in Japan this coming March when former Bellator champ Hector ‘Lighting’ Lombard (33-3-1, 1NC)) takes on former UFC contender Yushin ‘Thunder’ Okami (28-7) at UFC on FUEL TV 8.
‘Thunder’ and ‘Lightning’ were announced as opponents for the television event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship late Monday night.
Japanese middleweight contender Yushin “Thunder” Okami has been added to the Ultimate Fighting Championship® card scheduled for Mar. 3 at the Saitama Super Arena. The UFC® announced that the 31-year-old, from Japan’s renowned Wajutsu Keishukai Gym, will meet former Olympic judo competitor Hector “Lightning” Lombard in middleweight (185 lbs.) action when the organization returns to Japan.
UFC on Fuel TV: Silva vs. Stann (aka UFC on FUEL TV 8) is expected to take place on March 3, 2013 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The main card will air on FUEL TV while the prelim card is expected to be split between FX and streaming video on Facebook. The Okami vs. Lombard bout will appear on the main card.
Lombard earned his first win inside the Octagon last month in Australia, knocking out Rousimar Palhares in the first round at the UFC on FX 6 show. ‘Lightning’ debuted with the UFC this summer in Calgary, losing a split decision to Tim Boetsch. That defeat was the first of Lombard’s career since November 2006 which saw a 25-bout undefeated streak end for the Cuban-Australian fighter.
Okami was also in action last month, earning a solid victory over Alan Belcher at UFC 155 by picking up a decision win. ‘Thunder’ is now 2-2 in his last four, earning a second round TKO win over Buddy Roberts at UFC 150, while losing via TKO to Tim Boetsch at UFC 144 and to Anderson Silva at UFC 134 in a middleweight title match.