Johny Hendricks Edges Hector Lombard In Pivotal Middleweight Debut
Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks and former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard met for extremely high stakes in the co-main event of this evening’s (Feb. 19, 2017) UFC Fight Night 105 from the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The two fighters had lost a combined five straight contests, with Hendricks having dropped three straight to Stephen Thompson, Kelvin Gastelum, and Neil Magny while Lombard had been finished by Dan Henderson and Magny in fights he was clearly winning in the early moments.
Both needed a win to secure their UFC contracts, and for “Bigg Rigg,” it was the latest fight he said he would retire after if he lost, but his first at middleweight after a long and sordid history of missing the welterweight limit.
Round One:
Lombard started the fight off circling Hendricks, with both fighters cautious to engage. Bigg Rigg” got the action moving with a low kick, and followed with a knee in the clinch. Lombard stung a counter and appeared to be stalking for a huge shot, landing a grazing power left.
Hendricks was lighter on the feet, but Lombard caught one of his low kicks to throw some big punches leading to a brief clinch. Lombard ate a low kick to clinch again, and Hendricks scored another knee. The former welterweight boss missed badly on a takedown and the fighters traded shots in the center of the octagon. Lombard then dropped him off another low kick, but “Bigg Rigg” quickly rose up.
A clinch saw the action to slow down, and the referee gave Lombard a warning to keep his fingers out of the fence. A quick flurry of punches came from both before the first round came to a close.
Round Two:
The second round began with Hendricks getting tagged with a counter as he rushed in close. He landed a slapping low kick but Lombard was there to score a combo. Hendricks countered with one of his own before a clinch lead to Lombard kneeing Hendricks below the belt not once but twice, prompting the referee to step in and give “Bigg Rigg” a five-minute break.
On the restart, Lombard wobbled Hendricks with a right hand and followed up with another. Hooks landed, but Hendricks threw back a few shots. Hendricks scored a knee up the middle and some punches, and again Lombard looked to clinch. Lombard landed a hard left over the top, and they traded shots in the pocket. “Lightning” was appearing to tire as he absorbed a knee and clinched again, leading to another warning to Lombard for grabbing the fence.
Hendricks landed a knee and a right hand after the fight started again, whiffing on a huge left before landing a final knee to close a better round for the former welterweight champ.
Round Three:
The last round began with Lombard stalking Hendricks to land a huge right and a low kick. Hendricks was active but throwing just out of reach, and both men missed on big looping shots simultaneously. Lombard scored with a punch and a body kick, and Hendricks lead with another big knee. A left followed from the more mobile Hendricks, who threw yet another knee only to get hit with an uppercut.
Lombard snapped a jab and Hendricks an overhand over the strike, landing a left hand and low kick right after. Lombard threw a right hook and missed a takedown attempt off of a knee, and Hendricks began landed combos and strong shots. But a jumping knee lead to a sweep takedown from Lombard, from which Hendricks got back up rapidly. Lombard stalked Hendricks lazily along the cage wall, landing body kicks and an overhand, but Hendricks fired back a low kick. The fight ended with Lombard chasing “Bigg Rigg” to throw a shot.
Official Result: Johny Hendricks def. Hector Lombard by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
