Bellator Champ Hector Lombard Jumps to the UFC

Bellator Fighting Championships is losing one its champions.

With no “champions clause” in Bellator contracts and his four-year deal coming to a close, Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard is leaving the promotion and heading to the UFC.

“I am in the UFC it is official,” Lombard tweeted on Tuesday afternoon.

Lombard is a big loss for Bellator, and a solid acquisition for the MMA juggernaut.

Lombard is the only middleweight champion that Bellator has ever had, although the promotion has had a difficult time keeping him busy, primarily having him fight in non-title bouts. He’s also fought several times during his Bellator tenure for other promotions on his home turf in Australia.

Lombard brings with him a 31-2-1 record to the Octagon. He hasn’t lost a fight since 2006, having when 20 consecutive bouts.

No word yet on just when we can expect to see Lombard in the Octagon, but he’s sure to be a welcome addition to a division that is swiftly being cleared out by UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

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