The highlight of Bellator 44 on Saturday night was a knockout win for middleweight champion, Hector Lombard.

The 33-year-old member of American Top Team knocked out Falaniko Vitale in the third round of their contest, giving Lombard 16 wins by knockout in his career and pushing his record to 29-2-1 overall.

Like Bellator Lightweight Champion, Eddie Alvarez, the question has to be asked; where does Lombard stack up against the best of the middleweights in all of MMA?

Lombard is a big, burly 185-pounder that has also fought at 190 pounds and at light heavyweight (205 pounds) in his career, finding success in each weight class.

Currently, Lombard is riding an 18-fight win streak and his last loss came in 2006 to Strikeforce light heavyweight, Gegard Mousasi.

Lombard holds wins over former UFC contenders Joe Doerksen, Kalib Starnes, and Vitale. Four of his last six bouts have ended with a first round knockout, with two taking place in less than 40 seconds. Lombard has even forced a few opponents to tap to his strikes.

Lombard has had success overseas and in the states for Bellator and other organizations, but he has yet to fight under the Zuffa umbrella.

Certainly the numbers support Lombard being considered a top 10 middleweight in MMA, but until he gets a chance to really prove himself in the UFC or Strikeforce, it is going to be tough to just know what kind of potential this guy has. Certainly, he has to be one of the best fighters in the world that is now employed by Zuffa.

Another Sunday night means another MMA on TV update for the week.

This week, there is a pretty light load, but here is a look at the MMA content that will be airing:

– On Wednesday, the seventh episode of The Ultimate Fighter will air on SpikeTV at 9 p.m. ET. The prelim fights are complete and the wild card fighters have been chosen. Now the quarterfinals will be set with the wild card match and coaches Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos will compete in the annual coaches’ challenge.

– On Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on MTV2, Bellator 44 will take place from Caesar’s Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ. The main event is the Season 4 Lightweight Tournament final with Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (9-1) taking on Michael Chandler (7-0). Another featured bout pits Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard (27-2-1) taking on Falaniko Vitale (28-9) in a non-title fight.