UFC 166 Date: Octber 19, 2013 Arena: Toyota Center City: Houston TX Welterweight bout: Hector “Lightning” Lombard (-160) vs Nate “The Great” Marquardt (+150) Fight Breakdown: The UFC 166 preliminary card on FOX Sports 1 will feature a welterweight bout between two former champions, when former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard squares off against former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nate “The Great” Marquadt. Lombard is currently the favorite in this but at -160 ($160 to win $100), while the kickback on the underdog Marquardt is +150 ($100 to win $150) at Several Bookmakerss. HECTOR “LIGHTNING” LOMBARD (32-4-1-1 NC MMA, 1-2 UFC) will be making his fourth appearance in the Octagon in his debut at welterweight, and he looked good weighing in for the fight earlier today, coming in at 169lbs. Lombard went on a very impressive 31-2 run in the middleweight division, before signing a UFC contract. He was upset by Tim Boetsch via controversial split decision in his long-awaited promotional debut. Lombard fought with an injury, but in my opinion, did enough to win all three rounds. I felt he deserved a 30-27, but the judges were not inclined to agree. He followed that sour loss with a knockout victory over current (and recently released) welterweight Rousimar Palhares, then followed that with a very close split decision loss to (also, recently released) Yushin Okami, in a fight where he nearly finished the Japanese grappler. The Cuban born native of Australia will be looking to make an impact in the UFC’s welterweight division with an impressive performance tomorrow night. Being the definition of a mixed martial artist, Lombard is well-versed in every aspect of the sport. He has great striking skills and packs a lot of power. He possesses the power of a heavyweight in the body of a welterweight. The 35-year old has tremendous takedown defense, largely due to his solid base, which he got from many years of judo. This judoka black belt has decent conditioning, I think it will be okay as a welterweight, as well. He is dangerous for all 15 minutes, as was made clear in his near-finish of Okami in the third round in his last outing. NATE “THE GREAT” MARQUARDT (32-12-2 MMA, 10-5 UFC) is coming off a first round knockout loss to Jake Ellenberger, in what was his return to the UFC. The loss puts him on a two-fight skid, as he had lost his Strikeforce welterweight title to Tarec Saffeidine on the final Strikeforce card. Having never lost three in a row in his 48 professional mixed martial arts fighting career, Marquardt really has his back against the wall here, and with a loss, could likely be released from he promotion again. Marquardt is a talented submission artist who owns 15 professional career victories by way of tapout, and will have an advantage in that department, should he be able to get the fight to the mat. However, I don’t think he’ll find success with his takedowns, as they aren’t very good and even if they were, it would have been tough against someone with as good takedown defense as Lombard possesses. Marquardt is also a talented striker, as he used his striking to beat Tyron Woodley on the feet until ultimately stopping him with strikes in the fourth round, and being crowned Strikeforce welterweight champ. Marquardt trains at high altitude in Colorado and is generally well-conditioned, so I expect him to be able to give it all he has for all three rounds, should the fight go the distance. Fight Prediction: Marquardt will fail to get the fight to the mat and won’t find success on the feet. It’s only a matter how much he can take before the ref is forced to step in. I wouldn’t be surprised if this goes the distance, but I’d say, more often than not — Gabe’s Pick: Hector Lombard by TKO (strikes, 1:49 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Plays: Hector Lombard -160, moderate-to-big.
