(When The Walking Dead didn’t call him back, Quarry knew he was bound for the UFC once again.)
Nate Quarry has always been a charismatic guy; not only was he the first fighter ever to ink a sponsorship with a basketball shoe company, but anyone who’s ever seen his epic clowning of Kalib Starnes and post-fight speech thereafter knows the man has character in spades. More aware of this than anyone is Quarry himself, who recently began angling for a UFC commentating job on the popular mixed martial arts forum The UG:
I want to be an on-air personality for the UFC. There I said it … My qualifications? Well, I’ve been a fighter for the past 14 years. I’ve trained with some of the legends of the sport and even cornered them for some of the greatest fights in UFC history. I was there when the UFC went from 5 shows a year to being in every home in America. And, I know my ish. Plus, I’ve been a public speaker since I was 7 years old, standing up in Church and giving Bible readings. Last year I spoke at a TEDx conference where it was me, a mike and 300 business people for 18 minutes. And now I travel around the country speaking on behalf of my XLIF back surgery that game me my life back. Not to mention I hosted my own tv show on Comcast called American Cage Fighter. It was only broadcast in Nor Cal but was really well received and replayed every day of the week. Do I have your support?
Simply put, yes Mr. Quarry. Though it is a shame to know that we likely won’t ever see him fight again (he hasn’t competed since a second round TKO loss to Jorge Rivera back at UFN 21 in 2010), it would be nice to hear an actual fighter’s take for once when it comes to the action unfolding inside the octagon. Kenny Florian provides this from time to time, but establishing a fighter on a more permanent basis would be a great move for the UFC.
For those of you who might have forgotten, Quarry was a contestant on the very first season of The Ultimate Fighter and could add an interesting perspective when it comes to the ever growing number of TUFees fighting in the octagon. The man is also a ten fight UFC veteran who has overcome near insurmountable odds in order to continue competing professionally.
But the problem here is Quarry’s timing. Aside from their recent signing of former MMA Live host Jon Anik to cover various UFC related gigs, including a role as play-by-play announcer for the UFC’s fights on FX and FuelTV, the UFC has also brought over commentator Todd Harris to handle their pre-fight shows since their absorption of the WEC. So where exactly could Quarry fit in? Perhaps Anik needs a color commentator for the FX and FuelTV shows, and there’s no way Quarry could be any worse at it than Troy Aikman.
So what say you, Potato Nation, would you like a little more of “The Rock” in your lives?
-Danga