http://mmajunkie.com/news/18279/bellato ... c-belt.mmaAs Bellator Fighting Championships gears up for its season-two middleweight tourney to determine a No. 1 contender for the champ, Hector Lombard (23-2-1) returned to Australia and successfully defended his other title, the Cage Fighting Championship middleweight belt.
The victory over Team Quest's Art Santore (18-8) extended Lombard's unbeaten streak to 18 fights and marked his 13th straight win since a 2007 draw with Kyle Noke.
The title defense came today at the 11-bout "CFC 12: Lombard vs. Santore" event, which took place at the 5,500-seat Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, New Wales, Australia.
Lombard dominated the night's main event and opened a deep gash on his opponent's face. With Santore not allowed to continue from the assault, Lombard picked up the TKO victory. Eighteen of his 24 career wins have now come via stoppage.
In 2009 Lombard, who was once close to signing with the UFC in 2007, defeated Virgil Lozano, Damien Stelly and Jared Hess to win the first-ever Bellator middleweight belt. However, even before Bellator, Lombard won the CFC title in 2007 and has since made six successful title defenses.
Like other Bellator champs, Lombard is taking fights outside the promotion while No. 1 contenders are determined in four different weight classes. Their first title defenses will come in season-three "super fights" later this year and will air on FOX Sports Net (with highlights on NBC and Telemundo).
Also on the card, Adrian Pang (16-6-2) lost his lightweight title to Bernardo Magalhaes (8-2) via decision, and Gustavo Falciroli (9-2-2) won the featherweight belt with a decision win over Richie Vaculik (4-1).
