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40-year-old Nate Marquardt could be stepping back into the cage sometime in the near future.
Just over two years after his last fight, it seems that Nate Marquardt could be planning a return to the cage. Not for the UFC, but this time for Bellator.
The news was revealed when training partner Ian Heinisch spoke to The Score’s James Lynch on Friday, ahead of his UFC 245 fight next month, against Omari Akhmedov. Heinisch has been training with Marquardt ahead of the bout and revealed the MMA veteran’s possible plans on returning to the cage.
“Heinisch revealed in the interview that Nate Marquardt has been training with him extensively and is planning a potential comeback,” Lynch wrote. “Mentioned Bellator as a possible destination. We’ll see if that ends up happening.”
Marquardt (35-19-2) retired from pro MMA after his split decision loss to Cezar Ferreira at UFC Norfolk,in November 2017. Before this loss, Marquardt also lost consecutive decisions to Vitor Belfort and Sam Alvey.
Despite only winning three of the last twelve fights of his career, “The Great” did have a good run in Strikeforce in which he won the welterweight championship by knocking out former UFC 170-pound champ Tyron Woodley. Marquardt fought once for the UFC middleweight title in his lengthy career, losing by first round stoppage to Anderson Silva way back in 2007