Cuban Judoka and the first ever Bellator Middleweight World Champion Hector Lombard has always had a fondness for striking despite his grappling talent and his transition to bare-knuckle boxing wasn’t entirely shocking, although the aftermath of his second fight at BKFC 18 certainly was. After winning his bare-knuckle boxing debut against Dave Mundell early last year, he was quickly matched up against fellow MMA veteran Kendall Grove and ended up finishing him inside the very first round.
This stellar start to his bare-knuckle boxing career is what led to Hector Lombard being given the opportunity to fight for the BKFC Cruiserweight title against another former UFC fighter in Joe Riggs. The fight was a somewhat controversial ending as Lombard was declared the winner as the result of a fourth-round TKO. When the fight was over and the media came into the ring to begin Lombard’s post-fight interview, fellow BKFC fighter Lorenzo Hunt stepped in to make his challenge for Lombard’s newly-acquired belt known.
It seems as though Lombard did not react kindly to having some of his thunder stolen and he immediately initiated a brawl with Hunt, a former MMA fighter on the regional circuit who switched to bare-knuckle boxing after amassing a losing record and has since gone 5-1 under the BKFC banner. Lombard now joins the ranks of a number of high-profile MMA fighters who have turned to bare-knuckle boxing in their retirement and have found decent success in transitioning from the cage to the ring.
The full BKFC 18 event replay is available to watch as a PPV on FITE TV, click here to purchase and watch.
.@HectorLombard delivered a happy meal without the toy on Lorenzo Hunt.#BKFC18 pic.twitter.com/LjwSxaDy9O
— TrillerTV (@FiteTV) June 27, 2021
✍️ Don’t ✍️ Interrupt ✍️ Hector’s ✍️ Interview pic.twitter.com/Q2UpRYuMqK
— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) June 27, 2021