DH: How are you feeling since your win over Vitale this past Saturday at Bellator 44?
HL:I feel good. I messed up my shoulder a little bit with the torque I put behind the KO punch but it will heal soon.
Next, he shares his thoughts on the next middleweight tournament, and seems to be expecting a rematch of one of his toughest fights to date:HL:I feel good. I messed up my shoulder a little bit with the torque I put behind the KO punch but it will heal soon.
"There will be some good fights in this one I'm sure. They are making these tournaments tougher and tougher so it should be good. I heard that Jared Hess is in it. I think he will win it this time. I know whoever wins it will be a tough fight."
And discusses the opponents that have been named so far:
I have watched footage on (Vitor) Vianna. I think he has some holes in his game and still fresh in this sport. He is tough but I don't see him winning it. (Alexander) Shlemenko wasn't as tough a fight as I thought. His striking is really good but he has bad takedown defense. When I fought him, I was sick as a dog and I was able to take him down continuously. I can't tell you how bad felt during that fight. There was a flu going around the gym at the time, (Alessio) Sakara got it right before he went to Germany to fight (Jorge) Rivera and he ended up having to pull out. Everyone at the gym was sick; it was terrible. (Bryan) Baker is good but I don't see him winning it.
And he makes it quite clear how he feels in regards to getting another shot at Gegard Mousasi:
DH: Do you still want that rematch with Mousasi?
HL: Bro, I want that rematch so bad. That's the fight I want the most. When I fought him I wasn't even training. I went to Japan to negotiate and sign a contract with Pride. I was supposed to sign it and come back to train while they found me a good matchup. After I sign the contract they tell me they want me to fight in 2 weeks. They told me the guy was young and inexperienced so I took the fight. When I saw who my opponent was I got a little pissed because, yeah he was young but he had lots of experience. I had nobody to train with out there and I was training like 1 or 2 hours a day for that fight. Today, if that fight happens, I will finish him in the first round. I will even move up to 205 to get that fight if he doesn't want to fight me at 185.
He also calls Vitor Belfort's wrestling "terrible", talks fighting Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza ("There is nothing he can do to me"), and makes some predictions on a few upcoming UFC fights. It's definitely worth checking out the whole thing, because Lombard definitely doesn't hold back.HL: Bro, I want that rematch so bad. That's the fight I want the most. When I fought him I wasn't even training. I went to Japan to negotiate and sign a contract with Pride. I was supposed to sign it and come back to train while they found me a good matchup. After I sign the contract they tell me they want me to fight in 2 weeks. They told me the guy was young and inexperienced so I took the fight. When I saw who my opponent was I got a little pissed because, yeah he was young but he had lots of experience. I had nobody to train with out there and I was training like 1 or 2 hours a day for that fight. Today, if that fight happens, I will finish him in the first round. I will even move up to 205 to get that fight if he doesn't want to fight me at 185.