Hector Lombard: Dan Henderson 'never gave a sh-t about me' in training

One of the little known facts about UFC 199 opponents Hector Lombard and Dan Henderson is that they were former training partners. Well, not quite.

Lombard, who moves back up to the middleweight division to take on 'Hendo' at The Forum, says the MMA veteran barely acknowledged him when he walked into Team Quest (Henderson's former training home) in Temecula, California.

"He never gave a (expletive) about me," Lombard told MMAjunkie Radio yesterday. "I went there, and he never talked to me, so I was like, OK, no worries. And the week after, I made a move."

With Henderson and the gang leaving a bad first impression on Lombard, the Cuban made a new home with some of the UFC's most notable talents at American Top Team (ATT) in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Despite their past, Lombard still has a deep admiration for Henderson and is looking forward to taking on a legend on June 4.

"I'm very excited about fighting him," Lombard said. "He's one of the guys I look up to. Nevertheless, I'm going to go and knock him out. But it's going to be an entertaining fight."

The former Olympian returned from a one-year drug suspension to face Neil Magny in a welterweight tilt at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir, but things didn't go to plan. After a successful opening round, Lombard was brutalised and eventually stopped by Magny in the third, marking the first stoppage loss of his career.

Lombard will look to spring back into the winners column against Henderson and says he's open to challenging at light-heavweight in the future.

"I'm probably going to go to 205 (at light heavyweight), to be honest," he said. "Between 185 and 205."

The UFC 199 pay-per-view, which features Lombard vs. Henderson on the main card, takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, California on June 4.