Hector Lombard Won’t Get Mark Munoz, but UFC Middleweight Picture is Gaining Focus

Former Bellator champion Hector Lombard hasn’t set foot in the Octagon yet, but he’s already been mapping out his next fight, although he has a fairly tough one in front of him at UFC 149 on Saturday night.

Lombard squares off with Tim Boetsch, who has been making huge waves in the UFC middleweight division of late.

Lombard, however, has already declared that he wants to step into the cage with Mark Munoz next, even if he were offered a shot at Anderson Silva and the UFC middleweight title.

No go says UFC president Dana White.

“He must not have Fuel TV because Mark Munoz lost the other night,” White commented at Thursday’s UFC 149 pre-fight press conference when asked about Lombard’s preference to face Munoz.

Should he come out on top against Boetsch, which is by no means a given, Munoz is nowhere near penciled in for Lombard.

“He’ll be fighting one of the guys that are at the top of that division,” said White. “Not that Munoz isn’t, but Munoz has a loss right now.”

The UFC president mentioned that he has been conferring at length with UFC matchmaker Joe Silva lately about the state of the UFC middleweight division and, assuming everyone comes out of the next couple of shows healthy, there is already a road map sketched out.

“You know how I never have any answers for you (immediately after the fights)?” White said at the press conference. “I’ve been talking to Joe Silva. On Saturday night, after the fights, I’ll have some answers for you.”

The brash UFC boss wouldn’t hint at anything beyond that, but made it sound as if Saturday night’s fight has a lot to do with how things will shake out in the middleweight division’s title picture.

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