Hector Lombard was once one of the most intimidating and feared fighters worldwide, and he has now signed a deal with OKTAGON MMA to take on top knockout artist from the promotion Vlasto Cepo.
The former Olympic judoka will compete at Oktagon 39 on Saturday night against the No. 4-ranked middleweight in a 205-pound boxing bout. The card, which takes place inside AUDI DOME, is the next step in our expansion across Germany and will be the biggest MMA event that Munich has ever seen.
Lombard (34-10-1) has fought for the best MMA promotions all over the globe and has shared the cage with some of the greatest names in the sport. From 2011 to 2017, he went undefeated for 25 bouts, enjoying a legendary run as Bellator MMA middleweight champion during that streak. The Cuban-Australian holds impressive victories over the likes of Alexander Shlemenko, Nate Marquardt and Jake Shields. After his tenure in the UFC, Lombard picked up stoppage wins in bare-knuckle boxing against Kendall Grove and Joe Riggs, lifting the BKFC cruiserweight belt in the process.
Cepo (11-2) only began competing in MMA during 2019 but over the past four years, he has risen to become a much-loved fighter in the promotion. “El Chapo” owns a terrifying 100 percent finishing rate and has never exceeded the four-minute mark in any of his professional victories. He was scheduled to finally meet arch-nemesis, Matej Penaz, at Oktagon 42 in Bratislava, Slovakia but the bout was canceled due to Penaz suffering an injury. Cepo will now instead lace up the gloves and face the biggest name of his career to date.
Oktagon 39 is headlined by a welterweight fight between German fan favorite Christian Jungwirth (12-6) and Brazilian warrior, Denilson Neves de Oliveira (17-9), which is guaranteed to bring the Munich crowd to their feet. In the co-main event, rising contender meets German MMA legend when Alexander Poppeck (15-4) takes on the man known as “King Kong,” Martin Zawada (29-17-1), in an intriguing light heavyweight contest, and in another feature bout, undefeated lightweight champion, Losene Keita (9-0) makes his featherweight debut opposite Samuel Bark (8-1).
Oktagon 39 will be broadcast live around the world on Oktagon.tv and kicks off at 12 p.m. ET.
The Oktagon 39 lineup includes:
- Christian Jungwirth vs. Denilson Neves de Oliveira
- Alexander Poppeck vs. Martin Zawada
- Losene Keita vs. Samuel Bark
- Vlasto Cepo vs. Hector Lombard (boxing)
- Rafael Xavier vs. Pavol Langer
- Ronald Paradeiser vs. Vlado Sikic
- Hatef Moeil vs. Wallyson Carvalho
- Vladimir Lengal vs. Cem Kuyumcuoglu
- Marek Bartl vs. Kevin Hangs
- Tayo Odunjo vs. Lukas Cruz
