WELTERWEIGHTS JAKE SHIELDS, HECTOR LOMBARD TO MEET AT UFC 171 IN DALLAS

Resurgent welterweights Jake Shields and Hector Lombard are set to square off at UFC 171.

The promotion announced the pairing on Sunday. UFC 171 takes place at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas on March 15 and is headlined by a light heavyweight title bout between Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira.

After a two-fight stint at middleweight in 2012, Shields returned to 170 pounds in June, when he captured a split-verdict over Tyron Woodley at UFC 161. Most recently, the former Strikeforce 185-pound king earn a five-round split decision over the streaking Demian Maia in the UFC Fight Night 29 headliner.

Lombard, meanwhile, made a spectacular 170-pound debut in the Octagon, as he knocked out Nate Marquardt 1:48 into the opening frame at UFC 166. The ex-Bellator titlist had experienced mixed results as a UFC middleweight, besting Rousimar Palhares while falling to Tim Boetsch and Yushin Okami.