Nate Marquardt wants one specific opponent.
Should the fight take place, the match-up may be the most exciting non-UFC bout that can be made. Nate Marquardt has his sights locked on British slugger Paul Daley.
“He has a good name,” Marquardt told Bleacher Report’s Gary Herman. “He’s a good fighter—and he talked all that crap about me? I want to fight him.”
When Marquardt was recently let go by the UFC, some fighters defended him and some fighters did not. Most of the fighters, however, knew the former middleweight title contender personally.
Daley, however, never came in contact with Marquardt.
“I just met him a few weeks ago in England,” Marquardt said about Daley, “but I hadn’t met him before that.
Regardless, Daley had this to say to Bleacher Report just after the Marquardt situation went down.
“Obviously, he was called out (on steroids) and it’s not the first time he’s been caught,” Daley said, “so obviously he’s been using performance-enhancing drugs when training, fighting etc…”
Daley was not finished.
“As soon as the (Tyron) Woodley fight’s out of the way, Nate can get a hold of my manager and we’ll make the fight happen,” Daley said. “As far as what he said about me and the rest of those guys—I think we all pretty much have the same mentality. If he wants to fight, we’ll fight.”
Now that both are competing in the upstart BAMMA organization, the fight has a very realistic shot to take place. Marquardt has already signed to compete on the organization’s next show on December 10.
“It’s still undecided,” Marquardt said, when asked about his next opponent, “but I’m really hoping it will be Paul Daley.”
Fighting with BAMMA will be a new experience for Marquardt. His last 14 fights have all been in the UFC. He went 10-4 in the promotion.
Once he was let go by Zuffa, Marquardt quickly became very popular.
“We were pretty much contacted by every organization outside of the UFC,” Marquardt said. “We looked for what would be the best fit, and what would have the most opportunity. We thought BAMMA had the best show outside of the UFC. They have good fighters, and they are growing rapidly.”
Changing promotions is not the only new experience for Marquardt. In December, Marquardt will also be debuting at 170 lbs.
“I want to be a dominant welterweight,” Marquardt said about his career goals. “I want to show everyone I’m one of the top welterweights in the world—if not the top welterweight in the world.”
Even though Marquardt has not fought since March 2011, he has still been in the spotlight. He had a role in the recent movie release Warrior.
“I was in Pittsburgh filming for nine weeks,” Marquardt said. “It was something I’d definitely considering doing more of.”
While in Pittsburgh, Marquardt had a chance to meet another actor in the movie—former Olympic gold medalist and current pro wrestler Kurt Angle.
Angle often talked about making the switch to MMA, but nothing ever came of it. Marquardt believes he would have been a success.
“We hung out a few times,” Marquardt said about Angle. “If Kurt had focused his career to MMA instead of wrestling? He could have been a star for sure.”
For now, Marquardt is no longer acting and is looking to reignite his fight career. He has a simple plan to get back to the spotlight.
“I need to win big fights against big names.”
Daley could certainly be his next attempt against an MMA star. Should the two meet, Marquardt is very confident in the result.
“He’s got an exciting style,” Marquardt said, “but I think I’d destroy him. I’d be too much for him. I am too well rounded. My takedowns are too good. My ground is too good.”
“I think I’m a better stand-up fighter. I’m stronger. I train harder. That’s it.”
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