Ever since it was announced that Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney was interested in Nate Marquardt, there’s been a bit of a debate on whether or not Bellator should really sign the former UFC Middleweight Championship contender that quickly became the central point of one of the biggest MMA controversies of the year. Multiple Bellator fighters, including Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard, have vocally called out Marquardt. However, it now appears that Bellator won’t be able to sign Nate “The Great” after all. Here are all the details. ...

Ever since Nate Marquardt’s highly-published falling-out with the UFC, every fan of Nate “The Great” has been wondering where the veteran fighter will next call home. Strikeforce is obviously not an option due to it being owned by Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC. Upstart promotion Bellator FC seemed like the most logical step, although I openly wondered if Bellator would be able to afford the services of Marquardt. It now appears that they at least want to try: a new report says that Bellator will wait until Marquardt gets his licensing issues straightened out, but that the promotion is definitely interested in the former UFC Middleweight Championship contender. Here are all the details. ...

Hector Lombard has long been regarded as one of the best kept secrets in the mixed martial arts world. His lone losses in his career stand at two early career defeats to Japanese legend Akihiro Gono and former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi--both bouts which took place under the PRIDE banner. However, the the Olympic Judoka has transitioned his skills on the mat to now a full fledged MMA fighter. But, he may be more known to the fans as the little guy with knockout power in both hands, and he helped assert those claims last night when he polished off UFC and Strikeforce veteran Falaniko Vitale just seconds into the third-round. ...

In tonight's featured "super fight", Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard was to take on arguably one of his toughest tests to date in former Icon Sport titleholder and UFC veteran Falaniko Vitale. There's a lot of pressure for the Bellator titleholders, as none of them have faltered in non-title bouts, going a perfect 9-0 before tonight's event. And though the bout began in less than exciting fashion, it ended the same way Lombard ends most of his fights--with an abrupt and very fast knockout. ...

As Bellator 44 comes to ahead later tonight, let's take a look back at the weigh-in results heading into the festivities up ahead. The card will be headlined by an intriguing middleweight bout pitting Bellator champion Hector Lombard against UFC and Strikeforce veteran Falaniko Vitale in a "super fight" non-title bout. While the headlining duo made weight with no problem, the attention later shifted to a proposed bantamweight bout between WEC veteran Anthony Morrison and Brian Goldsby, though there's been a hitch in plans when Morrison came in 10-pounds over the limit. ...

By John Moody We all know how fun it can be to watch Anderson Silva dump an upkick to the grill of Vitor Belfort or Jon Jones drop sledgehammer elbows to Brandon Vera's skull.  But hey, we kind of expect this, these are some of the best pound for pound fighters walking the planet.  So what about the fighters not always front and center of every MMA chit chat.  Well here are some guys, that rarely, if ever, fail to excite and entertain in the cage. ...

Hector Lombard has looked anything less than a world-beater since his inception into the Bellator cage in 2009. There, he has been able to reach a wider audience that may or may not have already known of the obvious talent that the Judoka possesses. And while his true martial art will always be his grappling pedigree, he has slowly but surely become a "knockout artist" in his own right--having finished the likes of UFC veteran Jay Silva with a six-second flurry that put him into unconsciousness. And while some of the casual mixed martial arts fans may not follow all of Lombard's endeavors outside of the Bellator arena, you may want to take notice of the whooping that he placed on another UFC veteran in Joe Doerksen--a fight that turned so ugly, so fast, that the ringside doctor halted the bout inside of the first-round. ...

While it’s flown under the radar (for the most part) when it comes to mainstream MMA, upstart promotion Bellator FC has embedded itself in all the right places and remains popular on the underground, hardcore MMA scene. With a combination of savvy viral video marketing and a lot of great up-and-coming talent, Bellator continues to not only survive, but thrive. Recently, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney spoke at length about the future of his promotion, including calls for more Strikeforce vs. Bellator “Champion vs. Champion” super-fights. ...

With all this talk of the WEC-UFC merger, new dream match ups, it looks like we almost all forgot about the "little promotion that could"--Bellator Fighting Championship's continues to impress, and once again has crowned a new champion amongst it's ranks. While a steady stream of new upstart prospects have claimed the titles from the season's past champions, specifically former featherweight champion Joe Soto relinquishing his title to current title holder Joe Warren in a come-back finish in their September tussle, and former welterweight champion Lyman Good losing to talented Olympic wrestler Ben Askren. The pressure was all on Hector Lombard, who remained one of the last original champions from Bellator's first season (Eddie Alvarez has yet to defend his title against season 2 tournament winner Pat Curran sometime in the near future). ...

Bellator's middleweight champion Hector Lombard, in his last two fights has spent a combined time of 44 seconds. When are we going to see any of his infamous Judo skills put to the test? Since his inception to the aforementioned organization, Lombard has done everything to solidify himself as contender in the discussions of being a top-10 caliber fighter, one that would make Mike Tyson proud, finishing 4 of his 5 Bellator appearances by way of knockout. ...

Fighters.com’s tenth-ranked middleweight “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-1) fill fight Bellator middleweight champion “Shango” Hector Lombard (25-2-1) for the title at Bellator May 20, according to a Tatame report. ...

It was announced today that Bellator just inked 6-foot, 3-inch "The Beast" Bryan Baker (11-1) for the season two middleweight tournament. The constant announcements of signed fighters for the up-coming season means we will see plenty of exciting fights. Bellator is doing exactly what they need to in order to build the organization but will the fans show their support and buy tickets? ...

“Shango” Hector Lombard (16-2-1) has joined American Top Team, ATT General Manager Richie Guerrero confirmed to MMA Junkie Thursday. The Olympic judoka from Cuba joins WEC Lightweight Champion Mike Thomas Brown (15-4), Fighters.com’s tenth-ranked lightweight “JZ” Gesias Cavalcante (12-1-1), top welterweight contender “Pitbull” Thiago Alves (16-3), and Denis Kang (32-10-1), among others, at the Florida-based gym. Lombard, who has fought in PRIDE, DEEP, and SpiritMC, held onto his Cage Fighting Championship middleweight belt in September when he forced Brian Ebersole (37-13-1) to verbally submit in round four. Lombard has not lost since November 2006, when Gegard Mousasi (13-2-1) took the unanimous decision. Lombard was scheduled to fight 8 November versus “Hands of Steel” Scott Smith (13-6) at EliteXC, but the show was cancelled and its parent company, ProElite, has since folded. ...

“Hands of Steel” Scott Smith (13-5; 1NC) versus “Shango” Hector Lombard (17-2-1; 1NC) has been officially added to the EliteXC: A Night of Champions card 8 November in Reno. Smith last fought in July and was TKO’d in the second round by Fighters.com’s fourth-ranked middleweight and EliteXC champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (16-4; 1NC). It was their rematch after an eye poke resulted in a No Contest in May. Lombard, the Cage Fighting Championship title-holder and Olympic judoka, last fought in September when he forced Brian Ebersole (36-15; 1 NC) to verbally submit in round four. Lombard’s most recent loss was to DREAM Middleweight Champion Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1) November 2006. ...

EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw has confirmed that the organization’s 8 November event will take place in Reno, reported MMA Junkie Friday. Shaw said, "We're going to have a huge card in November.  We're going to be in Reno, Nevada.  It's going to be fantastic." Shaw also confirmed that “Feijao” Rafael Cavalcante (7-1) will be on the card and may face “Snake” Cyrille Diabate (12-6-1), although whether it will be a title fight is yet to be determined. “[We've] spoken about Cyrille Diabate, but it's not definitive that that's going to be his opponent,” Shaw said. "Until we have a definitive opponent, we do not know if we will introduce the light-heavyweight title.  When we are ready to introduce the light heavyweight title, there is no doubt that 'Feijao' will be in a fight for that title.  He's without a doubt the No. 1 fighter that we have in the light heavyweight division." Cavalcante last fought in July, TKO'ing "Gladiator" Travis Galbraith (15-6) in round one. Diabate won a unanimous decision over Jaime Fletcher (6-4) in August. Another bout under consideration is "Hands of Steel" Scott Smith (13-5) versus “Shango” Hector Lombard (17-2-1). Shaw said, “We have a tentative agreement for Scott Smith to take on Hector Lombard.  I think that would be a fantastic fight.” Smith is coming off a second-round TKO loss to Fighters.com's fourth-ranked middleweight and EliteXC champ “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (16-4) in July. Lombard last fought in September versus Brian Ebersole (36-15), who verbally tapped in the fourth round. One fighter who may not make it onto the card is “Grim” Brett Rogers (8-0). "Brett Rogers hasn't been decided yet," Shaw said.  "We're still talking with his camp.  He had a couple of personal issues, and we're just making sure that he has enough time to be prepared.  We spoke, and it's nothing else.  It's not contracts, it's just a couple personal issues. "We want to make sure we get the best possible Brett Rogers at all times.  If we're able to go with him, then he'll be there." Rogers TKO'd Jon Murphy (4-3) in 1:01 in May. The event will be headlined by Lawler in a title fight with Joey Villasenor (26-6) and also features a 160-pound title bout between Fighters.com’s third-ranked lightweight Eddie Alvarez (15-1) and Nick Diaz (18-7).  It airs on Showtime. ...

UFC middleweight Kazuhiro Nakamura (11-7) revealed on his blog today that the judoka-turned-fighter is brushing up on the sweet science. Nakamura is training with Japanese cruiserweight boxer Ryosuke Takahashi, a former Oriental & Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) Cruiserweight Champion with a 17-5 boxing record.  The OPBF is a minor title under the World Boxing Council umbrella of 11 regional sanctioning federations. Nakamura is set to battle Fighters.com's fourth-ranked light heavyweight "The African Assassin" Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (4-2) in an all-judo showdown on the undercard of UFC 84. Sokoudjou posted Tuesday on his blog that he's training with Olympic judoka's "Shango" Hector Lombard (15-2-1) of Cuba and Pawel Nastula (1-3) of Poland, evidently expecting his fight with Nakamura to be more of a demonstration of circle theory. ...

"I am delighted to make it official that Hector [Lombard] has signed with us," ProElite Live Events President Gary Shaw announced Friday. Lombard (15-2-1) is a 185-pound Cuban Olympic judoka who now fights out of Australia. "He is an elite athlete, no doubt about that, and he was very sought-after, so for us, this is a very strong acquisition," Shaw added. Lombard fought twice in PRIDE in 2006, losing by unanimous decision to Gegard Mousasi (20-2-1) and Akihiro Gono (28-12-7).  He hasn't lost since the "L" to Mousasi and is the reigning Cage Fighting Championships middleweight titlist in Australia. Shaw said, "Fans are in for a real treat.  Hector is one of the most talented and explosive fighters I've ever seen.  There may not be any other fighter in his divisions with more explosive strength and athleticism.  He is a real crowd-pleasing fighter.  It is unreal how he delivers those judo throws and power slams." Lombard said, "Signing with EliteXC should provide my career with a massive boost and is a great opportunity.  I feel I am ready to fight the best they have to offer.  The fact I have the freedom to fight outside EliteXC is huge for me, too." Lombard could quickly ascend to challenge for one of the 185-pound titles under the ProElite banner currently held by Fighters.com's sixth-ranked middleweight "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (15-4) in EliteXC, Cung Le (6-0) in Strikeforce, and Kala Kolohe Hose (6-1) in Icon.  He has also expressed an ability to fight at 170-pounds. ...