Hector Lombard (photo via Esther Lin / UFC)

By FCF Staff

Although Hector Lombard hasn’t fought in over a year, the heavy handed fighter is hoping to take out Neil Magny at UFC Fight Night 85, and lock up a title shot.

The welterweight contender is returning to cage for the first time since last January this Saturday, following a year long suspension for PEDs. Lombard tested positive for banned substances after he earned a unanimous decision win over Josh Burkman at UFC 182, and the result was overturned/

Recently the former Bellator middleweight champ spoke to UFC.com about this weekend’s fight, and while doing so, Lombard stated the following:

“Neil has a good record and a win over him, especially a spectacular win, will make a lot of noise and hopefully propel me to the title,” Lombard said. “A lot of these guys don’t want to stand with me because they know I will knock them out, but Magny is a guy who comes to fight and it should be exciting for the fans. This is a fight I wanted.”

“Right now, anyone in the top ten could get the call to fight for the title,” Lombard added. “I need to get myself up there. I believe I’m already there, but I have to perform better than I did in my last fight…”

Magny, meanwhile, is coming off a split decision win over Kelvin Gastelum in November.

UFC FN 85 will take place in Brisbane, Australia, and will be headlined by a heavyweight bout between Frank Mir and Mark Hunt.