When Hector Lombard decided to drop to welterweight, he also decided he wanted a piece of Nate Marquardt.
His wish has come true.
MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani has confirmed that, according to sources close to the event, Lombard vs. Marquardt will go down at UFC 166 on Oct. 19 in Houston’s Toyota Center.
Lombard (32-4-1, 1 NC), the former Bellator middleweight champion, arrived in the UFC last summer with a tremendous wave of hype on the strength of a 25-fight unbeaten streak (24-0-1). He has a well-earned rep as a fearsome finisher, with 25 of his 32 wins coming via finish (18 KO/TKOs, 7 submissions).
But the Cuban fighter stumbled in the UFC’s middleweight division, with split-decision losses to Tim Boetsch and Yushin Okami sandwiched around a first-round finish of Rousimar Palhares.
The veteran Marquardt (32-12-2), meanwhile, is a former King of Pancrase and Strikeforce champion. The 34-year old is looking to get back in the win column after dropping his past two fights. The first was an upset loss to Tarec Saffeidine in January, in which Saffedine took the Strikeforce title. Then came a knockout loss to Jake Ellenberger at UFC 158.