Former Bellator middleweight champ Hector Lombard returned to action Saturday night, at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He featured in a middleweight bout against Anthony Smith on the main card of UFC Fight Night 116: Rockhold vs. Branch.
American Top Team fighter Hector Lombard came into the night on a three fight loosing streak and looking for his first victory since he defeated Jake Shields at UFC 171 back on March 15th, 2014. He entered the cage looking to change his fortunes with a badly needed win over Smith.
The Ultimate Fighter 23 alum Anthony Smith, meanwhile, stepped into the cage riding a two fight win streak with his most recent win over Andrew Sanchez by KO at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Reis. He was aiming to extend his streak with a win over Hector Lombard.
Round one saw the fight move around the cage with both fighters exchanging until Smith ended up in a kneeling position and Lombard looked to land shots. It seemed as if Smith was in serious danger here. Back on their feet Lombard landed some heavy shots, getting the better of Smith as Smith seemed tentative.
Round two saw Lombard come out working leg kicks as he tried to take away some of the reach advantage from Smith. Smith responded with a high knee that just missed the mark. Lombard was able to secure Smith’s back in the standing position; Smith answered by spinning out and the two exchanged blows. Smith landed a right that coupled with a misstep by Lombard sent Lombard to the mat. He recovered to the end round.
The final round saw Smith start to open up and land shots. Lombard fired back with leg kicks. The two exchanged and Smith dropped Lombard with a left hook followed by a right straight to secure the win. With that, a fired up Smith earned the biggest victory of his career.
Anthony Smith def. Hector Lombard by TKO, Round 3, 2:33
