UFC 158’s Nate Marquardt: ‘I’m a Great Fighter, I Just Want to Prove It’

Nate Marquardt will return to the UFC on Saturday when he faces Jake Ellenberger in Montreal, Canada on the pay-per-view portion of the UFC 158 fight card. Marquardt’s first go-round with the UFC ended abruptly after he was released from the orga…

Nate Marquardt will return to the UFC on Saturday when he faces Jake Ellenberger in Montreal, Canada on the pay-per-view portion of the UFC 158 fight card.

Marquardt’s first go-round with the UFC ended abruptly after he was released from the organization on the eve of a headlining bout back in June 2011.  Since that release, Marquardt has gone 1-1—the win being his brutal knockout of Tyron Woodley to capture the vacant Strikeforce welterweight title, the loss being a decision defeat where he turned that title over to Tarec Saffiedine.

Marquardt was not originally booked to compete at UFC 158, but when Rory MacDonald pulled out of his co-main event bout against Carlos Condit due to injury, some shuffling of the card commenced. After Johny Hendricks was moved to the co-main event, there was an opening against Jake Ellenberger. The only problem: There remained only three weeks until fight night.

That wasn’t a problem for Marquardt, who viewed the short notice as a perfect opportunity: “Everything seemed like it was perfect. Ellenberger being the opponent, doing Zuffa a solid, there’s a lot of guys that wouldn’t take a fight like Ellenberger on short notice and also I felt like it was the perfect opportunity and I had to act when I could.”

That short notice caused Marquardt to scramble. “Basically I had a three-week camp and had to do everything in a rush. I had to get the right training partners out. I had to come up with a game plan with the coaches and get them all on the same page. The logistics of the camp made the first week challenging, but I feel 100 percent ready.”

Another benefit of taking the fight on short notice is that it allows Marquardt to put the January 12 loss to Saffiedine in his rear-view mirror. “MMA is tough; you can lose a fight and not fight for six months and that whole time you feel like a loser, and it’s tough. Jumping right back in against a top opponent, I feel like I get a chance to redeem myself.”

Marquardt, obviously still stinging from that loss, continued: “That fight made me think, no offence to him, just looking at that fight, he’s not at my level. I didn’t go into that fight with my normal mindset.  This sport’s tough, you have an off night and that can last you half a year.”

A quick glance would leave one to think that maybe the deck is stacked against Marquardt for Saturday night. He’ll enter the Octagon following a loss to a fighter that many believe he should have defeated, and he’s coming in on short notice to face a top-10 welterweight.

Despite that, Marquardt does not lack in confidence: “I’m a great fighter, I just want to go out and prove it.”

*All quotes obtained firsthand.

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