Considering that Lombard is one of the UFC’s most expensive busts in recent memory — with only one win in the Octagon in three attempts at 185 pounds — this fight could be a must-win for both men, and you can bet that Lombard will be swinging for Marquardt’s off-button, at least until he gets tired in the second round. Got any predictions?
Considering that Lombard is one of the UFC’s most expensive busts in recent memory — with only one win in the Octagon in three attempts at 185 pounds — this fight could be a must-win for both men, and you can bet that Lombard will be swinging for Marquardt’s off-button, at least until he gets tired in the second round. Got any predictions?
(“That guy on the right? Yeah, let’s go with him.” Photo via Getty Images.)
Although Hector Lombard‘s UFC career hasn’t exactly gotten off to the start he probably hoped it would, it appears that the former Bellator middleweight kingpin will join the likes of Brian Stann and Tim Boetsch (to name a couple) when he attempts to drop a weight class to save his career. Lombard informed Ariel Helwani on yesterday’s edition of UFC Tonight that, after enlisting the help of Mike Dolce to make a test cut to 170 lbs, he is now ready to make a full commitment to welterweight and already has an opponent in mind: former Strikeforce one-time welterweight champion Nate Marquardt.
Although Lombard was being rumored to coach opposite Patrick Cote on the next international season of The Ultimate Fighter, it appears that he will need a little more time to make a safe cut. As much as we’d like take a shot at Lombard for calling out a guy on the heels of a first round KO loss, this fight honestly makes a good deal of sense considering where both men currently stand. Marquardt has dropped his past two contests to Jake Ellenberger and Tarec Saffiedine, while Lombard has dropped two of his past three as well (to Boetsch and Yushin Okami). It’s crazy to think that a little over a year ago, we would have assumed this fight was for some kind of title or #1 contender bout at the minimum, not the right to stay employed. Yet here we are.
Speaking of two fighters in need of a win…
(“That guy on the right? Yeah, let’s go with him.” Photo via Getty Images.)
Although Hector Lombard‘s UFC career hasn’t exactly gotten off to the start he probably hoped it would, it appears that the former Bellator middleweight kingpin will join the likes of Brian Stann and Tim Boetsch (to name a couple) when he attempts to drop a weight class to save his career. Lombard informed Ariel Helwani on yesterday’s edition of UFC Tonight that, after enlisting the help of Mike Dolce to make a test cut to 170 lbs, he is now ready to make a full commitment to welterweight and already has an opponent in mind: former Strikeforce one-time welterweight champion Nate Marquardt.
Although Lombard was being rumored to coach opposite Patrick Cote on the next international season of The Ultimate Fighter, it appears that he will need a little more time to make a safe cut. As much as we’d like take a shot at Lombard for calling out a guy on the heels of a first round KO loss, this fight honestly makes a good deal of sense considering where both men currently stand in their respective weight classes. Marquardt has dropped his past two contests to Jake Ellenberger and Tarec Saffiedine, while Lombard has dropped two of his past three as well (to Boetsch and Yushin Okami). It’s crazy to think that a little over a year ago, we would have assumed this fight was for some kind of title or #1 contender bout at the minimum, not the right to stay employed. Yet here we are.
Speaking of two fighters in need of a win…
Stefan Struve, who never met a TKO he couldn’t appreciate, was recently called out by none other than Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, also during yesterday’s UFC Tonight. Following a second round submission via armbar loss (my reaction to this news can be seen here) to fellow TUF Brazil 2 coach Fabricio Werdum at UFC on FUEL 10 earlier in the month, Big Nog was forced to once again go under the knife to repair his damaged arm. According to the longtime legend, the surgery was a big success and he expects to be back in action in December, preferably against the lanky Dutchman. Struve, who also required corrective surgery following his third round jaw-shattering KO loss to Mark Hunt at UFC on FUEL 8, has been requesting a fight with Nog for some time now, so we should assume that this one’s all but a done deal.
At this point, there’s simply no convincing “Minotauro” that he needs to even consider the big “R” word, so instead, let’s just fantasize about what weapon or power up bonus we’d prefer to see Nogueira enter the octagon with in his next fight to even the odds. An evil chainsaw hand? Turbo boosters? A rocket launcher? The freakin’ BLUE SHELL?
Denver, Colorado has always been a breeding ground for mixed martial arts ever since the first UFC event was held there all the way back in 1993. Since that time, a slew of great fighters have come out of the area, and some of the best and brightest fr…
Denver, Colorado has always been a breeding ground for mixed martial arts ever since the first UFC event was held there all the way back in 1993.
Since that time, a slew of great fighters have come out of the area, and some of the best and brightest from Denver are now forming together to create a new team under the coaching leadership of former Ultimate Fighter assistant Leister Bowling.
The new squad will be called the Elevation Fight Team and will be headed up by several UFC competitors, including Nate Marquardt, Brendan Schaub, Cat Zingano and Jared Hamman.
According to Bowling, the concept of this team is different than most in MMA because it really is about the fighters and not a single coach or gym looking to get ahead in the business.
“The difference is it’s not a gym, it’s a team,” Bowling told Bleacher Report on Thursday.“It’s going to be open to everybody from every gym, and in Denver, there happens to be a lot of good gyms.I think a lot of fighters get pulled in a lot of different directions.Maybe they want to train with me for wrestling, and somewhere else for boxing and somewhere else for jiu-jitsu, and maybe all of those coaches don’t get along.That just hurts the fighter.Because they’re not getting to train with the best training partners.
“So the concept of this is I run my practices out of the MusclePharm training center, they’ve kind of named me their in house MMA coach, and it came about because some people were kind of unhappy where they were and wanted to start their own team and asked me to be a part of it and asked me to run it as head coach.”
The MusclePharm facility will host the main practices for the team, but they will also branch out to other places in and around Denver, including Easton Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu headed up by retired UFC light heavyweight Eliot Marshall.The idea is for the team to be about getting the best training and coaching possible, while avoiding the politics of fighters only being able to work at one gym.
Bowling has worked with many of the core fighters for several years, and he’s excited that they are coming along with him on this new endeavor.Bowling started training Schaub when he was literally just one fight into his pro career, while he’s known Zingano since she was in high school.
The long running relationships he’s shared with the fighters and that they have shared with one another will hopefully make the new team as strong as any in the game today.
“For those guys to believe in me and trust in me to be, like, the head coach of their team and trust my decisions, it’s an honor,” Bowling said.“It’s awesome to have a group like that, that have always known each other but have been pulled in different directions in their careers.To be able to start with a group like that is awesome.”
One of the ideals Bowling is battling against with his new team is the concept that because Marquardt, Schaub and others are training with him now, that they can no longer be a part of another team, like where they previously worked at the Grudge Training Center, a popular facility in Denver headed up by coach Trevor Wittman.
For instance, Zingano will call Elevation Fight Team her home, but she will still train at Zingano Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu where her husband coaches and works.He will also be welcome to come work with the new team as well.
Bowling avoids naming names when it comes to the fighters who will no longer be working with a former coach or gym to focus on the new team, but he says Elevation Fight Team will have an open door policy for any fighter who just wants to train and get better.
“There’s a few guys out there, and I don’t want to name anybody in particular because it’s not everybody that’s going to be a part of this team necessarily wanted to leave Grudge, but there’s some people that just needed a change of atmosphere,” Bowling revealed.“They just wanted something different.They really wanted it to be a fighters first team and not really focus on anyone’s business.In my mind, as a professional MMA coach, I need to be a part of Team Schaub or Team Marquardt or Team Zingano or whoever I’m coaching at that time rather than my own business.I really think that’s what’s put me in this position—MMA’s not my livelihood, it’s my passion.
“There’s some people that will still train at Grudge and there’s some people that will probably never go back.”
Putting the fighter ahead of the gym is the key to Bowling’s plan with the new team.He believes every fighter needs to be in a business unto themselves and not get into battling over which gym they represent heading into a fight.
“This is a team.To be a team you’ve got to be a family—they’ve got to bleed together, they’ve got to be there for each other.Anytime, when you mix two businesses, you get conflict.Well, Nate Marquardt is in the Nate Marquardt business, and whatever gym he’s in is that business because they have to pay their bills, it’s their family’s livelihood,” Bowling stated.“I believe fighters need to be selfish with their career and not trying to build somebody’s business instead of your own.It can be a problem.This team is fighters first.”
Marquardt agrees with Bowling as he joins him on the new team, and hopes to keep a very positive attitude flowing at Elevation Fight Team.
“I have been around this sport for a long time. I have seen the best and worst this sport has to offer. I have always had a dream to not only train with the best guys I can, but to train in a positive atmosphere that puts the fighters first,” Marquardt said in a press release about the team’s creation. “I want to help develop that dream and turn it into a reality not only for my own career but for a lot of the younger fighters I train with on a daily basis.
“I want to be part of a team that puts the fighters first and Elevation Fight Team is going to do that. After brainstorming with my coach Leister Bowling, we decided to run with the idea. This team will be different than any team in MMA today.”
The new team is already forming and practices starting up as Schaub gets ready for his next fight, while Zingano prepares for her trip to Las Vegas to begin work on the new season of the Ultimate Fighter.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
Although Georges St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks earned enthralling decision wins in the card’s main and co-main events, UFC 158 wouldn’t have been deemed such a success without the five fights that ended via knockout. Truth be told, any U…
Although Georges St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks earned enthralling decision wins in the card’s main and co-main events, UFC 158 wouldn’t have been deemed such a success without the five fights that ended via knockout.
Truth be told, any UFC card that includes no submissions better have at least a handful of memorable KO’s.
After patiently sitting through back-to-back decisions on the main card, over 20,000 fans at Montreal’s Bell Centre were brought to their feet when Jake Ellenberger brutally KO’dNate Marquardt to garner “Knockout of the Night” honors.
Here’s a ranked list of the best stoppages from UFC 158.
Nate Marquardt did not look like himself Saturday night at UFC 158 opposite the heavy-handed Jake Ellenberger.Sure, Marquardt stepped in for Johny Hendricks who moved up to fight Carlos Condit, but fans expected much more from “The Great” in his Octago…
Nate Marquardt did not look like himself Saturday night at UFC 158 opposite the heavy-handed Jake Ellenberger.
Sure, Marquardt stepped in for Johny Hendricks who moved up to fight Carlos Condit, but fans expected much more from “The Great” in his Octagon return. He didn’t deliver.
Now, as a 33-year-old veteran riding a two-fight losing streak, Marquardt will be forced to either reinvent his approach to fighting or look for greener grasses
Here are five things the former Strikeforce welterweight champion can do next on the heels of a devastating defeat.
