Don’t call it a comeback. At least that’s not how Josh Burkman sees his return to the UFC.
While it’s been more than six years since The People’s Warrior has competed inside the Octagon, the 34-year-old veteran has spent every step of his absence from the sport’s biggest stage scrapping to get back to where he believes he belongs. A three-fight skid may have cost him his roster spot back in 2008, but Burkman has gotten things back on track in a big way as he’s won nine of his 11 showings inside the cage since parting ways with the premier organization in mixed martial arts.
Yet, with that work coming outside of the spotlight of the UFC, it has taken quite some time for the versatile welterweight to gain the type of traction he needed to return to the Octagon. And that particular stigma is certainly something Burkman acknowledges. The Utah native has been competing in MMA for more than a decade and is well aware of how fans tend to view fighters competing outside of the UFC banner…that’s if they even manage to see them at all.
Nevertheless, Burkman has earned his way back and believes he’s sitting on the ideal opportunity in facing welterweight knockout-artist Hector Lombard in his return at UFC 182 this Saturday in Las Vegas. The former Bellator middleweight champion has been a wrecking machine since dropping down to 170 pounds, but Burkman is as game as they come and believes derailing a fighter with Lombard’s profile will be a proper re-introduction to the UFC fanbase.
Don’t call it a comeback. Burkman believes his upcoming bout is more of a reminder that he’s an elite-level fighter and can be a major player in the talent-rich ranks of the UFC’s welterweight division.
“It’s great to be back in the UFC and this is things coming full circle for me,” Burkman told Bleacher Report. “It was always my goal to get back to the UFC, and the icing on the cake is that I get to do it against an opponent like Hector Lombard. That puts me right back into the swing of things.
“I was talking and catching up with Jon Jones and he asked me why no one is giving me a chance in this fight and I told him it was because I’ve been fighting outside of the UFC. Sometimes when that is the case it just doesn’t matter what you’ve done. But this is my chance to show everyone once and for all that I’m an elite mixed martial artist against an opponent no one is giving me a shot against. This is my chance to show everyone what I got on the biggest stage in the world. I’m up for that challenge.”
While Burkman will be looking to re-establish himself in the welterweight ranks at UFC 182, the American Top Team product will be looking to further his case for a future title opportunity. Although the Cuban powerhouse stumbled a time or two right out of the gates with the UFC, his drop down into 170-pound waters has yielded impressive results.
The former Olympic judoka made good in his divisional debut by starching Nate Marquardt at UFC 166 in October of 2013, then followed that up with a unanimous-decision victory over former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger Jake Shields five months later at UFC 171. Back-to-back victories have Lombard feeling the momentum many expected him to have when he came over from Bellator back in 2012, but Burkman has plans to create some noise of his own this Saturday night.
In his mind their pairing is as storybook as it gets in combat sports, and defeating Lombard will make the exact caliber of statement he’s looking to make at UFC 182.
“I think this fight has a great story to it,” Burkman said. “On my side you have a fighter who had to work his way back, kept getting close, but the timing wasn’t right to bring me back. Then I do get my chance and it’s against a guy that nobody supposedly wants to fight in Hector Lombard. Hollywood makes movies about stuff like this. A guy battling his way back to face a fighter nobody wants to fight. It’s a great opportunity for me and I’m very grateful for it. I look forward to going out and performing on Saturday night.
“Lombard may lose some explosiveness over the course of a fight, but he never loses his strength. He always has that. One way I know not to fight this fight is to try to weather the storm against him. People get killed in the storm where I try to ride it out. I think you have to go in there and go after him. You have to step up and fight him and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m not going in there trying to survive or weather the storm, I’m bringing the fight right to him. Mark my words: I’m going to bring the fight right at Hector Lombard and I’m sure he’s going to bring it right back, and that will make for an exciting fight.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com