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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Fresh off another quick knockout victory over a severely over-matched opponent, Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard will face off against season two tournament winner Alexander Shlemenko at Bellator 34 this October.
Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney confirmed the matchup on Thursday's broadcast on Fox Sports Net.
Lombard has blasted through his competition thus far in Bellator, winning five straight fights in the organization. He's been out of the first round just once inside the Bellator cage, in the season one finals against Jared Hess. He's won his last two fights in a combined :44.
His current unbeaten streak now stretches 20 fights and almost four years.
Shlemenko won the season two tournament with a first round TKO victory over heavily favored Bryan Baker. He had also upset season one runner up Hess in the semifinals when Hess gruesomely injured his knee.
Bellator 34 will take place on October 28 from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. The event will air on Fox Sports Net.
Penick's Analysis: Shlemenko earned his shot at Lombard with the season two win, but I honestly don't know that he's got much to offer the Champ right now. Lombard's in a strange spot because he's simply better than everyone he can be matched against in Bellator, and if he doesn't start fighting some better competition there has to be a fear that his skills can regress. You can play down to your opponent's level in any competition, and the great fighters perform their best against great competition. I want to see if he's on that level. But for now, take a look at the video below to see what Lombard does to a fighter that isn't much of a challenge (App users video available at MMATorch.com):
[Hector Lombard photo by www.TomHillPhotos.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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