Bjorn Rebney to Decide If He's Going to Allow Hector Lombard to Sign with UFC

Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard is the hottest free agent of the moment. It has long been expected that he would seriously entertain offers to jump ship from Bellator and head to the UFC, and we now know that Lombard has received a UFC contract.

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney told Sherdog.com that he's received Lombard's UFC contract offer. Bellator doesn't have a champion's clause in their standard contracts, but they do have the right to match any offer one of their fighters receives from another organization. Rebney told Sherdog that he's going to sit down very soon and decide Lombard's fate:

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"Out of respect for Hector, I think we will turn [the UFC contract] around very quickly,” said Rebney. “Obviously, we have a huge event coming up Friday [Bellator 66]. As soon as that is over, we will sit down with our partners and go through the UFC contract line-for-line and make a strategic decision whether we’re going to match it or pass. [If we pass, we will] wish him the best and let him go knock out everybody in the UFC."

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If I had to put money on Lombard's next landing destination, I'd put down money on the UFC. Lombard doesn't have many real challengers at this point in Bellator, and he's openly discussed the idea of facing the best his weight class has to offer. If that's what he wants to do, he'll need to go to the UFC.

Bellator can obviously opt to keep Lombard. They might do it. We don't know what kind of offer the UFC made Lombard, and we likely won't know for quite some time. But even if Rebney chooses to match the UFC's offer, I still think there's a chance Lombard could tell Rebney that he wants to leave and try his hand in the Octagon. 

And knowing Rebney, he'll probably let him go. 

So who should Lombard face for his debut match? They're not going to give him an immediate fight with Anderson Silva, but he should get a top middleweight for his first fight in the UFC.

Brian Stann is a name that springs to mind. Stann is a credible middleweight and would serve as a tough test for Lombard. A win over the American hero would give Lombard plenty of steam for a title fight.

Mark Munoz is another viable option, though I suspect they'll want to keep Lombard away from strong wrestlers in his first fight. With Michael Bisping and Tim Boetsch already locked in for a summer fight, Stann is the best option for a meaningful bout that could elevate both guys into the title picture.