The battle lines have been drawn for a clash featuring newly-signed Bellator import Hector Lombard. Dana White tweeted that the Cuban-born judoka will be welcomed to the octagon by none other than US Marine and synonym for class, Brian Stann.
UFC.com later confirmed the match-up, rumoured to take place in August in Los Angeles at UFC on Fox 4.
Lombard comes into the promotion amongst a flurry of hype, being undefeated in the sport since 2006 and signing a reportedly incentive-laden contract to jump to UFC from rival Bellator. Lombard even took to Twitter to request a random drug test before the fight, ostensibly to keep him from being cast in the same shadow as the last fighter to come into UFC with a belt from another promotion, Alistair Overeem.
Stann comes into the fight after a first round knockout victory over Alessio Sakara at the recent UFC on Fuel card in Sweden. Stann was said to be in consideration for a title shot before coming up short against current number one contender Chael Sonnen. A victory for either fighter would put them “in the mix”, as Dana White likes to say for the next middleweight title opportunity.
Will the Marine Stann repel the invading Lomard? Or will Lombard lure Stann into his own Bay of Pigs? We’ll find out in August.
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