In May at Bellator 18, Lombard (25-2-1, 1 NC) last competed and this is where the Cuban judoka knocked out UFC veteran Jay Silva in just six seconds. The bout was quite interesting one.

Lombard, in a press release said, “I am looking forward to fighting in my home town, South Florida, where all my fans can come and watch, I appreciate the opportunity the Seminole Tribe and Bellator have given me. Herbert Goodman is a great athlete and will be a good opponent and it will be a great fight.”

For the Green Bay Packers, Goodman (15-8) is a former NFL player. The 185-pound fighter holds wins against Dante Rivera and Jordan Radev, and he is still a resident of Wisconsin.

Goodman said, “I know he’s tough and I know he’s the Bellator champion, but I’ll fight anyone. This is a great opportunity for me so I’m just going to apply my game plan and take what he gives me.”

On Fox Sports, season three of Bellator will air live, and for NBC it will produce weekly review shows, Telemundo and mun2.

Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney stated that, “Hector Lombard is at the top of his game and one of the best middleweights in the world. There are very few fighters out there who want to fight him right now. But Whisper Goodman is hungry for the challenge and he’s been through the battles both in the NFL and in MMA. I’m looking forward to watching how he matches up with Hector.”

In the 2010 Bellator Fighting Championships featherweight tournament final, Warren eked out a split decision over the previously unbeaten Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, on Thursday at Fourth Street Live in Louisville, Ky. Of all the three judges, two of them for Warren and the three judges scored it 29-28.

For a time, it appeared as though, to see the second and third rounds, Warren would not survive. Freire battered him with jabs, power punches, a standing arm-triangle choke and even a takedown and Warren was thoroughly dominated for the first five minutes. With a pair of crackling right hands, the 22-year-old Brazilian dropped Warren and followed him to the ground, where he stepped up the assault, as round one drew to a close. Warren was forced to surrender his back as Freire had secured full mount. Freire cinched a tight rear-naked choke as the horn sounded.

In rounds two and three, Freire’s offensive output dropped noticeably, as he allowed Warren to get a foothold in the match. With 2:39 left in the second round, the Dream veteran scored with his first takedown and kept Freire on his back for the remainder of the period. In round three, Warren grew stronger and from the top he delivered three takedowns and bloodied Freire’s lip with elbows, forearms and hammer fists. To sway the judges, it was enough.

“He was a very strong competitor; it was a tough guy to break. He was a great opponent. I feel tired and happy. It was a tough fight. I knew it would be”, said Warren.

The 33-year-old Warren, with this narrow victory earns a shot at unbeaten Bellator featherweight champion Joe Soto later this year.