(Rick Story slugs Thiago Alves at UFC 130, en route to his sixth consecutive UFC victory.)
Due to his wrestling prowess and tremendous momentum in the welterweight division, oddsmakers have pegged Rick Story as the betting favorite to defeat Nate Marquardt in the main event of their UFC Live 4 main event this Sunday. Right now, The Horror is being offered in the -124 to -145 range, depending on where you look, compared to +115 for Marquardt.
That might sound surprising at first, considering Nate’s legacy as a top contender in the middleweight division. Then again, Marquardt will be making his debut in a new weight class, which always raises questions. More importantly, Story has the same grinding style that Marquardt has struggled with in the past. As Rick explained to Sherdog, he’ll be following the Chael Sonnen playbook:
“If you watch his fight with Chael Sonnen, it’s pretty evident. He doesn’t have exceptional takedown defense, but he’s exceptional off his back. [It’s going to take] ground-and-pound and a high pace and you name it. In that Chael Sonnen fight, Chael went in that fight with a great game plan that worked for him. It showed a weakness in Marquardt’s game.”
Meanwhile, Marquardt will try to keep some space so he can do this to Story:
Who’s gameplan will win out? And would you put money on it?