After spending years as one of the sport’s most feared middleweight contenders, in the future, Nate Marquardt will be looking to showcase his talents in the UFC’s welterweight division.
Prior to making his UFC debut in 2005, Marquardt, a seven-time King of Pancrase middleweight champion, was regarded as one of the sport’s brightest prospects.
Since making the jump to the UFC, however, Marquardt, who holds Octagon-victories over Ivan Salaverry, Joe Doerksen, Crafton Wallace, Dean Lister, Jeremy Horn, Martin Kampmann, Wilson Gouveia, Demian Maia, Rousimar Palhares, and Dan Miller, has firmly established himself as one of the sport’s preeminent contenders.
In what will be his first welterweight match, Marquardt is currently slated to take on Rick Story at UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story on June 26th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Nate Marquardt about, among other topics, his first day in a martial arts academy, fighting in the UFC, and his upcoming match with Rick Story.
Were you involved in any martial arts growing up?
I started when I was 15 years old. I started in a school that taught Brazilian jiu-jitsu, karate, and kick-boxing.
Do you remember your first day?
I remember going in and meeting the instructor. I remember I had to have my mom sign a waiver—because I was 15 years old [laughs].
Was your mother at all apprehensive to sign on?
Not really. At that point, I was going to pay for it myself—I had a part-time job—so it was, kind of, my decision. She wasn’t apprehensive, though; I was always athletic and getting involved with rough sports when I was growing up.
What inspired you to start training?
When I saw the first three UFCs, with Royce Gracie; him being the smaller guy beating the bigger guys really intrigued me.
What were your first impressions of the sport?
I loved it—right from the start. I remember training with these two guys that would, basically, manhandle me and it was really cool, because we were using technique. They were bigger than me, of course, but they were beating me solely with technique and it was a lot of fun. You get put into positions where you feel claustrophobic or times when you get that panicked feeling when you get hit in sparring, but it was all good experience.
What were your intentions when you started training?
Honestly, this is what I wanted to do ever since I was a kid; whatever sport I was playing was what I wanted to do for a living. I could never see myself with any type of career where I sit in an office—I wanted to play sports. As soon as I saw that and started training, that’s what I wanted to do.
When did you realize that this was something that you might be able to make a career out of?
When I went over and fought and started training in Japan, I felt that this was something that I could do fulltime. At that time, though, it was barely covering the bills—actually, it wasn’t; I was just able to live very frugally so I could scrape by [laughs]. It wasn’t really until I signed with the UFC, though; that’s when I realized that it could be an actual career.
Do you ever think about where you might be—had you not taken the mixed martial arts-route?
I think about it sometimes. I think I would still be doing something fun. Like I said, I can’t see myself in an office or doing anything indoors—actually. Even if I were a firefighter or police officer—I think that that would be something that I could do.
How did you come into contact with the UFC?
I went to one of the Grappler’s Quest events. I was training with Greg Jackson and his whole team went up to Grappler’s Quest in Las Vegas. I saw Dana White and my wife said, “Oh, you should go talk to him.” And I was like, “Ah, I don’t want to go talk to him—he’s got a million people there that want to talk to him. I don’t want to bother him.” And she said, “No—go talk to him, say, ‘hi’ and go from there.” So, I went up to him and I introduced myself and said ‘hi’ and he knew who I was and he asked me how many more fights I had left and I told him and he, basically, showed that he was interested. I had one more fight in Pancrase and after I finished that, I was able to contact the UFC and I got my first fight booked.
Do you ever think about how long it may have taken you to make it to the UFC—had you not went up and talked with Dana that day?
No—I’ve never really thought about that. It’s hard to say, though, because I think my management at the time wanted to keep me over in Japan, so it could’ve taken a bit longer.
Were you at all apprehensive to sign the contract?
No—not at all.
What does fighting in the UFC mean to you?
It’s been my dream since I started. As far as my career, it means everything to me. They’re a great company and they’ve got the best fighters in the world. You know you’re at the top when you’re fighting the big guys in the UFC.
How much do you feel you’ve improved since first coming to the UFC?
A tonne. From a physical-standpoint, I’ve improved a lot; I’ve improved a lot on my strength, quickness, and explosive power. Technically, I’ve improved a tonne, as well. My striking was always good, but Trevor Wittman has got me to the point where I feel that I’m always dominant in the striking war.
Are you at all tired of being asked questions about your move to 170?
[Long pause] Ah, a little bit. I’m not sure if I’m tired of it, but I think people have been focusing on it a lot. It’s big news for the welterweight division, but, for me, it’s not a huge thing. it’s exciting and new, but the weight-cut isn’t that huge of a deal. My training is much more important than the weight-cut. For me, the weight-cut is, basically, just being hungrier than I was before [laughs]. My training takes up, pretty much, all of my energy, so I’m not focused on the weight-cut.
Do you feel any different at welterweight?
I feel much better; I feel quicker, my stamina has gone way up, and I just feel much better overall at 170. I feel like I have more energy, too.
Had you thought about making the move sooner?
Not really, no. Before my last fight, it was something that my coaches and I talked about and I thought it was a good career move.
Do you regret not making the move to welterweight sooner?
No—not at all. I think I have had some great fights at 185 and I was at the top of the division for years. Like I said; this is new and exciting—there are new guys to fight and there’s a new challenge in making weight.
What do you feel you can accomplish at 170?
My goal is to be the world champion and I definitely want to accomplish that.
Would you have any qualms fighting Georges for the championship?
He was initially the one that, kind of, suggested that I moved to 170. We talked about it and, to be honest, we’re going to talk about that if the time ever comes, but for right now, I’m not even thinking about that.
What type of impact do you think Georges has had on your career?
He’s had a huge impact; he’s helped me so much in so many areas. Right now, he’s helping me with the weight-cut and he’s helped me with training methods. One of the biggest things that he opened my eyes to was the wrestling. I thought that I was at a pretty good level—and I am at a decent level—but he can show you how important wrestling is [laughs]. If you watch any of his fights or spar with him, you automatically realize that that’s something that you need to master to be a great fighter. That’s what I’m trying to do; I’m trying to master everything that it takes to be a great fighter.
So, you look at Georges as a role model?
Yes, for sure. Obviously he’s a little bit younger, so it’s kind of weird to look up to someone that’s younger than me. We all see him just dominate his division; he comes out and performs every night—even if he puts on a bad performance, he still pulls out the win. He’s a very smart kid and he’s definitely someone that you want to mimic.
How are you feeling going into your upcoming match?
I feel great. Fighting in the UFC, this is as good as I’ve ever felt. I’m really excited.
Is it at all challenging to contend with an opponent change midway through your preparations?
It can be, but I’m just keeping everything basic. Like I said; I’ve got a lot of experience, so there won’t be any surprises.
How big of a role do you feel your experience is going to play in this match?
I think it’s huge; it’s going to be one of the deciding factors. I just feel that I have too many tools and too many tricks for him. I think that I’m going to overwhelm Story.
Do you feel Rick has anything to offer that you haven’t seen before?
No.
What do you think his game-plan is going to be—come fight-night?
Well, I think he’s going to try to use his pressure; I think he’s going to come forward with a brawling-style and try to attack the body, get me into a slug-fest, and then either try to take me down or push me against the cage and then try to take me down … Like I said, though; my experience is going to pay off in this fight; I’m going to hit him with shots and he’s going to wonder if he should be in there with me [laughs]. If he gets me up against the cage, I’m going to turn it and if he’s able to get me down, then I’m going to get right back up and it’s going to be wasted energy. I’m going to wear him out and I’m going to put him away.
What would a win next weekend mean to you?
It’s like any win; it’s a sense of accomplishment. That’s what I’m there to do, so it will make me happy to know that I’ve accomplished my goal.
Assuming you win, where do you see yourself in the UFC’s welterweight division?
I don’t know. I think I’ll be somewhere at the top, but I don’t really know. It’s not really my place to say where I’m at; it’s my job to go out there and do my best—to fight.
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