Hector Lombard vs. Nate Marquardt targeted for UFC 166 in Houston

Two middleweights-turned-welterweights who are on the rebound will soon clash when Hector Lombard (32-4-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) meets Nate Marquardt (32-12-2 MMA, 10-5 UFC) at UFC 166.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) confirmed the planned matchup with sources close to the event following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. UFC officials haven’t made a formal announcement.

UFC 166 takes place Oct. 19 at Houston’s Toyota Center. The main card, including heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos, airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.

It’s not clear where Lombard and Marquardt, who recently had been campaigning for a matchup against each other, will be placed on the lineup.

Since his reign in Bellator as the organization’s middleweight champion, Lombard has experienced mixed results in the UFC. The Cuban-Australian and Olympic judoko is just 1-2 in the octagon with split-decision losses to Tim Boetsch and Yushin Okami, and a first-round knockout of Rousimar Palhares. Prior to joining the UFC, the 35-year-old has posted a 25-fight unbeaten streak. Lombard, who’s ranked No. 12 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA middleweight rankings, now heads to welterweight.

He meets Marquardt, a former Strikeforce champion who returned to the UFC in March. However, Marquardt, who also unsuccessfully vied for the UFC middleweight title in 2007, suffered a knockout loss to Jake Ellenberger at UFC 158. It marked the first back-to-back losses of his career, which included a Strikeforce title loss to Tarec Saffiedine in January.

For the latest on UFC 166, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Hector Lombard)