Rumors swirling about Lombard vs. Shields, Shields wants Lawler

Now that Hector Lombard has officially made the move to welterweight and picked up a big win over Nate Marquardt, he's targeting the top of the division and has his eyes set on a former title challenger for his next opponent.

According to a report from Ariel Helwani via UFC Tonight, rumors have circled that Lombard could potentially face former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields in a welterweight showdown in the near future. Shields is fresh off a win over Demian Maia in Brazil, which served as his second win in a row since returning to the welterweight division earlier this year.

For their part, Shields' camp is interested in a different fight, however, after Robbie Lawler knocked off Rory MacDonald on Saturday at UFC 167. Shields had previously told FOX Sports that he was looking at MacDonald as a potential opponent should he win because that would be the fastest path back to a title shot.

With MacDonald now coming off a loss, Shields is instead looking at Lawler as a possible opponent given their shared history together.

In Shields first fight after competing as a welterweight for most of his career, he took on Lawler in Strikeforce in a 182-pound catchweight fight. It took Shields just over two minutes to get the victory after choking Lawler out with a tight guillotine choke in the first round.

Now with Lawler jumping all the way to No. 3 in the current UFC rankings, Shields seems interested in the rematch with title implications potentially on the line.

As of now, UFC officials haven't commented one way or the other if Shields will land Lawler, Lombard or another opponent for his next fight.