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[Cat--Smasher]

With Hector Lombard hype train derailed, UFC boss thinks slugger should consider 170

The heavily hyped UFC debut of former Bellator middleweight champ Hector Lombard (31-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was an utter failure, and UFC president Dana White thinks it may be time for the former Olympic judoka to consider a new weightclass.

After Lombard turned in a lackluster effort against Tim Boetsch (16-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) at Saturday night's UFC 149 event in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, the UFC boss said the stocky middleweight should at least consider dropping to 170 pounds.

"Lombard maybe should fight at 170," White said. "He made 185 easily. He's short and wide, but I think he could make 170."

"It wasn't the fight I was expecting," White admitted. "It just wasn't what I thought it was going to be. Whether it was Boetsch or Lombard winning, I was expecting a real war. I thought this thing was going to be a war."

White said he believes the "octagon jitters" that oftentimes affect fighters making their first appearance in the UFC could certainly have played a role in Lombard's odd performance. And while the UFC boss made it clear he was upset with the way the bout played out, he didn't seem to hold anything personal against Lombard.

"I don't know," White said. "We'll see what happens. You can't be angry with a guy. But it's just another way, and it shows you guys too, ranking guys who don't fight in the UFC, it's two different worlds."

Lombard wouldn't necessarily have an easier run at 170 pounds, but with a division full of fighters who tower over the 5-foot-9 American Top Teamer, White thinks "Lightning" should at least consider the move down from 185 pounds.

And most importantly, the UFC boss believes Lombard's UFC 149 loss proves once again how difficult it is to succeed in the octagon.

"It's the unfortunate thing about hype: When there's a lot of hype behind you and you don't live up to the hype, it goes away real quick," White said. "This is one of those things – the guy was on a 25-fight win streak, a lot of people were high on him, people have been talking about him forever. Guys that fight in other organizations end up in top-10 rankings, and it's a whole other world over here."

With Hector Lombard hype train derailed, UFC boss thinks slugger should consider 170 | MMAjunkie.com

[joeodd2]

*slow clap* Well played Mr. White....well played.

What happened the last time a UFC fighter went to another Major Org and fought?

This UFC myth is bullshit, they pay guys the most money. Ok I'll buy that. But to say they scooped up all the best guys in the world and that no one else should be ranked outside the UFC is complete bullshit. They put on the most shows, but head to head I wouldn't be surprised if the UFC broke even in a tournament style competition against other orgs. Fighters fight, not organizations, and the variables in every fight are different. Wearing UFC gloves doesn't instantly make you a world beater. You can be undefeated in the UFC and lose to some champ from a no name org. It's 2 human beings in a cage trying to implement a game plan. It's just a shame so many experienced MMA fans buy into Dana's bullshit. So if Lombard won the fight, then Dana would be saying, this guy was a UFC fighter all along, he was just biding his time in Bellator. All bases covered.

[Cat--Smasher]

Bjorn must be shedding a tear or two.

[Dr. MMA]

He carries wayyyy too much muscle. I always thought he should cut down to 170, and had a feeling that whenever he lost, it would be brought up. However, he did not get dominated and he didn't fight like he usually does. If the next one doesn't go well, I can see the 170lb talk hunting him down aggressively.

[MickeyKnox]

I am ready to see what he does in his next fight already.

[Sakara=Excitement]

[IceCold48]

Who cares this guy won't ever be relevant again.

[end it with a left]

Personally I thought he won the fight. Didn't seem like Tim was actually landing a lot. I thought he missed with a lot of strikes but than again last night was my first night drinking in three months and I haven't checked fight metric yet. My conspiracy radar was up during that fight because they didn't show any stats during the fight which they did most rounds for all the ppv fights. And the only stat Goldie tossed up was that they had thrown equal amount of strikes. Now if they threw similar amount of strikes and Hector seemed to throw more and had take downs in the first and third rounds and hurting him in the second should have given Lombard the decision

[The Return Of......]

Originally Posted by joeodd2

*slow clap* Well played Mr. White....well played.

What happened the last time a UFC fighter went to another Major Org and fought?

This UFC myth is bullshit, they pay guys the most money. Ok I'll buy that. But to say they scooped up all the best guys in the world and that no one else should be ranked outside the UFC is complete bullshit. They put on the most shows, but head to head I wouldn't be surprised if the UFC broke even in a tournament style competition against other orgs. Fighters fight, not organizations, and the variables in every fight are different. Wearing UFC gloves doesn't instantly make you a world beater. You can be undefeated in the UFC and lose to some champ from a no name org. It's 2 human beings in a cage trying to implement a game plan. It's just a shame so many experienced MMA fans buy into Dana's bullshit. So if Lombard won the fight, then Dana would be saying, this guy was a UFC fighter all along, he was just biding his time in Bellator. All bases covered.

keep in mind, due to the fact that they do pay the most, they do have the majority of the best fighters, and the fighters that are good that they dont have, they will get. outside of a retired fedor

[Sakara=Excitement]

When contacted for comment, Bjorn had this to say: