UFC middleweight Nate “The Great” Marquardt (30-10-2) wants another shot at earning the #1 contender position, failing to secure the spot a second time.
Marquardt lost a unanimous decision to Yushin Okami at UFC 122 in Germany, dropping him out of title contention. Previously to that he also suffered a loss to Chael Sonnen in February at UFC 109, failing to capture the #1 contender spot in the fight also.
“The Great” spoke to FightersOnlyMagazine.co.uk recently about getting back into title contention and wants to start that climb with a victory over Wanderlei Silva.
“In order to re-establish myself as the number one contender, my next opponent needs to be an elite fighter who will stand and bang with me in the center of the Octagon until one of us is knocked out. The fight that makes the most sense to me is Wanderlei Silva. I have a ton of respect for Wanderlei and have wanted this fight for years, the fans have wanted this fight, they deserve to see two of the best fighters in the world in an all out war. Wanderlei is an amazing fighter who is very aggressive, I will pursue him with unwavering tenacity, then I will knock him out! I promise the UFC, Dana, my fans, my team, my coaches and most importantly myself that never again will there be a question about my cage aggression.”