Hector Lombard Is Sure He Is Going To Knock Jake Shields Out
(Lombard pictured here demonstrating his ability to do a one armed push up while simultaneously knocking the hell out of some guy)
It’s been a mixed bag for Hector Lombard sice signing with the UFC and debuting against Tim Boetsch. UFC 149 played host to the Cuban sluggers first outing and it was a rather disappointing decision loss. He followed up with a KO win over Rousimar ‘Paul Harris’ Palhares, but once again dropped a decision loss to Yushin Okami at UFC on Fuel: Silva vs. Stann.
UFC 166 was Lombard’s most recent outing, and he scored a swift first round knockout over Nate Marquardt. The bout was the first fight at Welterweight for ‘Lightning’ and he looked very dangerous. Now booked to face Jake Shields at UFC 171, Lombard spoke with MMAJunkie.com regarding the grappling whiz:
“As long as I go to the fight healthy and make my weight right, I don’t see him being any problem, I see myself knocking Jake Shields out to be honest. I don’t care what anyone says, he’s a very difficult fighter to fight”
“He doesn’t look like he’s dangerous, but you take a look at his record and you take a look at his fights, he always proves people wrong. With that said, I still believe I’m going to knock him out. I will take out anyone, just Jake Shields is next.”
Shields has shocked many fighters in the past, and a prime example is his Strikeforce bout against Dan Henderson back in 2010. The bout was a Middleweight title clash at SF: Nashville, and Shields dominated Hendo en route to a decision victory. He has also claimed wins over Robbie Lawler, Paul Daley, Yoshi Akiyama, Martin Kampmann, Tyrone Woodley and Demian Maia in recent years.
Although a lot of those fights could have gone either way on the scorecards, Shields still presents a very real danger, especially against a scrapper who is known for sucking at decisions. That being said, the danger on Shields’ side is that one punch could finish the fight.
UFC 171 will play host to a plethora of rank influencing WW fights, and Lombard’s stable mate Robbie Lawler will challenge for the vacant 170lb. strap against Johny Hendricks to headline the event.
“That’s one of the things that I’m the happiest about,” Lombard said. “You’re fighting where all the welterweights, the best welterweights are fighting. I’m just fighting on a big card, big event, big arena. It’s amazing.”
A win against Shields would catapult Lombard in to serious contention, a loss would likely prove that ‘Lightning’ is not quite ready for the top 10 of the division. This classic grappler vs. striker fight has me intrigued, although I’m unsure that Shields will make it out in one piece.
