A pair of bouts have been officially added to UFC 166 on October 19th as Hector Lombard will make his UFC welterweight debut against Nate Marquardt and Gilbert Melendez faces Diego Sanchez.
UFC officials announced the bouts on Thursday and both matchups will likely take place on the main card.
UFC 166 takes place on October 19th from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas and will be headlined by Cain Velasquez defending the UFC heavyweight title against Junior dos Santos.
Lombard (32-4-1, 1NC) will be dropping down to the welterweight division after losing two of his first three fights in the UFC as a middleweight. Marquardt (32-12-2) returned to the UFC earlier this year after being in Strikeforce and was defeated by Jake Ellenberger by knockout. It was his second straight defeat and his last win was in July of last year.
Melendez (21-3) made his UFC debut earlier this year and lost a close split decision against lightweight champion Benson Henderson. The lost snapped a seven fight win streak and it was his first lost since 2008. Sanchez (24-5) returned to the lightweight division earlier this year and defeated Takanori Gomi by split decision at UFC on FUEL TV 8. He has won three of his last four fights and has won the fight of the night bonus in three of those fights.
The current UFC 166: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos III card is below:
Cain Velasquez (12-1) vs. Junior dos Santos (16-2)
Hector Lombard (32-4-1, 1NC) vs. Nate Marquardt (32-12-2)
Gilbert Melendez (21-3) vs. Diego Sanchez (24-5)