Yushin Okami (28-7 MMA, 12-4 UFC) wins points with Hector Lombard (32-3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) for having a black belt in judo.

“He’s extremely strong, and he has a long reach,” the former Olympic judoka told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “It’s going to be fun.”

But a fight with the Japanese veteran also worries him, mainly due to how Okami has used his grappling against opponents.

“He’s going to come and hug me,” Lombard said. “I don’t want to be hugged, so I’ve got to punch him.”

The ex-Bellator champ has a goal, you see. A win over Okami gets him one step closer to rival Michael Bisping, whom he’s rooting for in an upcoming fight with Alan Belcher.

“I hope he wins, because he sucks,” Lombard said.

That’s among the nicer things Lombard has said about Bisping, who once called him a “midget.” The pair have sparred in the media but have yet to meet in the octagon.

Assuming they win their respective fights, a meeting between them could easily headline an event broadcast on FUEL TV or FX, or even serve as the co-main event of a pay-per-view. The bad blood makes for easy marketing, and both have upside as potential contenders despite recent setbacks.

They could meet even if they lost their respective bouts and still draw interest from fans.

Whatever the circumstances, Lombard, who prior to his signing was touted as one of best knockout artists at middleweight, isn’t crowing about a shot at 185-pound champ Anderson Silva. His matchmaking choices appear to be motivated by things other than UFC gold.

He’s called out fighters outside his weight class (Josh Barnett, whom he allegedly clashed with at a gym), fighters without much career upside (Mark Munoz, who had recently lost to Chris Weidman), and guys he simply disliked (“The Count” Bisping).

Like women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, his judo skills are of an Olympic caliber. He represented his native Cuba in the 2000 Olympics. But he’d rather be known as the guy you can count on to deliver a knockout rather than the one to cinch an armbar.

“I did judo, yes, but I like more real fighting,” Lombard said. “I like to be an MMA fighter. A person that I always wanted to be was exciting and be the guy that people like to see because he punches, not go and grapple people.”

Lombard wants to knock out Bisping, and a clinch-fest with Okami could not only delay that opportunity, but leave him out of a job. He’s fully aware of recent cuts that have trimmed the UFC’s talent roster.

Should Okami smother him against the cage, he’s concerned he might “become boring, and then get cut because you’re boring.”

“I don’t want to do that,” Lombard said. “I want to go out there and punch him and be exciting.”

After stumbling in his UFC debut against Tim Boetsch, Lombard delivered excitement when he knocked out submission specialist Rousimar Palhares at UFC on FX 6. He did it just the way he has with other opponents, stalking them down before landing a crushing series of blows.

His task against Okami is to do that before there’s no distance between them. Even if he has to suffer the ultimate consequence, he’s going to stick to his style.

“I don’t care if I get KOd,” Lombard said. “I just want to punch him left and right.”

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