Tag: Nate Marquardt

Nate Marquardt Talks UFC Return, Says “No Hard Feelings” About Getting Cut

Even though former UFC middleweight Nate Marquardt suffered some huge public backlash at the expense of Dana White, he says it’s water under the bridge.During an interview with Karyn Bryant of MMA Heat behind the scenes at UFC 155, Marquardt spoke…

Even though former UFC middleweight Nate Marquardt suffered some huge public backlash at the expense of Dana White, he says it’s water under the bridge.

During an interview with Karyn Bryant of MMA Heat behind the scenes at UFC 155, Marquardt spoke at length about his rocky history with Zuffa and how he feels now that he’s on the verge of returning to his previous Octagon stomping grounds:

Once I signed with Strikeforce, at that point, it was basically in the past because Strikeforce is under the Zuffa banner and so everything that happened in the past stayed there. There’s no hard feelings going forward and I’m grateful for the opportunity and I plan on making the most of it.

Although White has confirmed that several Strikeforce fighters would be rescued from the dying promotion, Marquardt has had a short stint with the San Jose-based company.

Marquardt also seems to have become a new person after dropping a weight class, re-evaluating his health and temporarily floundering:

It was a tough time for sure. First, we signed with BAMMA and had some trouble there with the fight [that] kept getting postponed. And then we had the opportunity to get out of the contract to come over to Strikeforce, so we took it.

In particular, Marquardt also stated that he hasn’t lost any strength or power at welterweight, noting a massive speed advantage in the exchange. Marquardt was last slated to compete in the main event of UFC on Versus 4 against Rick Story, but was handed his walking papers after failing to pass the required physical test due to elevated testosterone levels.

Before Marquardt transfers back to the UFC, he’ll headline Strikeforce’s final event on January 12, 2013 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

Originally titled “Strikeforce: Champions” with a main card full of title fights, the headlining bout for the newly-named Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine event is now the only championship bout of the night. Previously, the original schedule was set to feature a mega-event with Strikeforce champions Gilbert Melendez and Luke Rockhold, before both pulled out due to training injuries.

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Nate Marquardt Says ‘Everything Is Resolved’ and Looks Toward the UFC

LAS VEGAS – Speaking with the media before UFC 155 in Las Vegas, Nate Marquardt expressed his gratitude for fighting once again as well as his plans to contend for the UFC title in the immediate future.Fans will remember that in 2011 Marquar…

LAS VEGAS – Speaking with the media before UFC 155 in Las Vegas, Nate Marquardt expressed his gratitude for fighting once again as well as his plans to contend for the UFC title in the immediate future.

Fans will remember that in 2011 Marquardt was pulled from the UFC on Versus 4 card for his failure to obtain medical clearance due to his testosterone levels not falling within regulated guidelines.

Marquardt now says, “Everything is resolved,” and admitted that it was “one of the toughest things in my career.”

Marquardt made his return after the suspension in July of this year as he took on Tyron Woodley for the Strikeforce welterweight championship. It was an impressive fight for Marquardt and created some buzz around his career once again.

“When I won the Strikeforce title, that was redemption for me,” Marquartd said. As far as where he is in the UFC title picture, he doesn’t feel he’s far down the ladder, saying, “I know I’m right in the mix, if not at the top.”

Before the thought of a UFC title becomes reality for Marquardt, he needs to get by Tarec Saffiedine. The two will fight in the final Strikeforce card on Jan. 12. “He’s very tough, I haven’t seen him get finished,” Marquardt stated, “I just feel I’m a better athlete.”

Marquardt is now 35 years old and has 44 professional fights under his belt (32-10-2). Should he make a serious run at the UFC title, the time may be now.

When asked about his potential return to the UFC, “The Great” didn’t hesitate, “I assume I’ll be in the UFC after this fight [with Saffiedine].”

 

*All quotes obtained first hand by Bleacher Report MMA

 

Joe Chacon is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a staff writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.

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MMA Fighters Calling out PED Users a Positive Sign for the Sport

If you sit back and really look closely at it, the PED issue is a lot deeper than just some fighters using steroids. The problem that has perhaps been even bigger than the actual juicing is the lack of condemnation from inside the fight industry. Actio…

If you sit back and really look closely at it, the PED issue is a lot deeper than just some fighters using steroids. The problem that has perhaps been even bigger than the actual juicing is the lack of condemnation from inside the fight industry.

Actions speak far louder than words, and the UFC’s actions have included immediate title shots for stripped champions like Tim Sylvia and Sean Sherk, opening up a spot for Josh Burkman on TUF Season 2 after a failed drug test kept him off Season 1, a willingness to accept Josh Barnett back into the fold and on and on. At no point has the UFC actually shown that they care if their fighters are on PEDs.

Perhaps worse, however, is that fighters have not done much when it comes to holding their coworkers’ feet to the fire on this issue.

Why this is remains a mystery. Sure, some fighters are outspoken on the PED problem in MMA. Roy Nelson, for example, jabbed at both Matt Mitrione and Shane Carwin for not submitting to voluntary drug testing before the TUF 16 finale. However, most fighters just have not spoken out against PEDs or fighters caught using these banned substances. That is, until now.

2012 has seen fighters, finally, start actively calling out their disgraced future (or past) opponents.

As you probably know, Alistair Overeem checked in before UFC 146 with an elevated level of testosterone. While this does not definitively link Overeem to steroids, the Dutch kickboxer has long been suspected of PED abuse, as fans saw him go from a lanky light heavyweight to one of the biggest heavyweights in the sport, all while fighting in Japan, a country which does not drug test fighters.

The reason for his unnatural testosterone levels, he claims, was because of a prescribed injection of a steroidal anti-inflammatory at his physician’s office (and the shady doctor corroborates). The excuse stinks, and taking a magnifying glass to it reveals that this is because it is purely ridiculous (as broken down here by our lead writer). This left many fans, pundits and bloggers believing that he was lying to cover up his PED abuse.

While in the past, this would get swept under the rug and forgotten about, Overeem has found himself a pariah among other heavyweights.

Heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos said that Overeem’s wins “cannot be taken seriously” because of the failed drug test. Fabricio Werdum, who lost to Overeem in 2011, said that the Dutch kickboxer was definitely “taking special juice” when they fought. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva said that, when the two fight in early 2013, “he won’t be clean for sure”.

The list goes on, and not just in regards to Overeem. Nate Marquardt‘s history of steroids and his more recent use of TRT came under fire from Strikeforce welterweight Tyron Woodley before the two fought. Ronda Rousey has made sure to jeer Cris “Cyborg” Santos every chance she gets and always throws in a dig about her testing positive for an anabolic steroid. Dan Henderson took a swipe at Vitor Belfort’s failed post-fight drug test from his days fighting in Pride earlier this year.

This does not even get into the back-and-forth war over TRT’s place in MMA (which, wrongly, is considered a form of using steroids by many fighters).

Does this mean that the days of PEDs in MMA are coming to a close? No. Will cattiness from other fighters be a legitimate deterrent for fighters that are using? Probably not.

Regardless, the culture in the sport is starting to shift in a positive way. That’s something we haven’t been able to say in a long while.

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Strikeforce Confirms January Card Lineup, Nate Marquardt as Main Event

Strikeforce may have built their last great push with Ronda Rousey and the heavyweight division, but their final card will be headlined by a welterweight UFC veteran.Amid a string of fight confirmations for the upcoming “Strikeforce: Challengers” event…

Strikeforce may have built their last great push with Ronda Rousey and the heavyweight division, but their final card will be headlined by a welterweight UFC veteran.

Amid a string of fight confirmations for the upcoming “Strikeforce: Challengers” event in January, the official Strikeforce website has established Nate Marquardt vs. Tarec Saffiedine as their main event.

Here’s how the card looks so far, according to the event’s webpage:

• Nate Marquardt vs. Tarec Saffiedine
• Daniel Cormier vs. Dion Staring
• Gegard Mousasi vs. Mike Kyle
• Ryan Couture vs. K.J. Noons

(Update: Four more bouts have been added to the event page, listed as follows.)

• Ronaldo Souza vs. Lorenz Larkin
• Pat Healy vs. Jorge Masvidal
• Roger Gracie vs. Anthony Smith
• Tim Kennedy vs. Trevor Smith

Having Marquardt on top of the card makes sense, as the Strikeforce welterweight champion will be the only fighter actually defending a title belt next year at Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Although Daniel Cormier is the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion, the nature of his belt doesn’t lend itself to any kind of title defense.

Originally, “Strikeforce: Champions” was meant to host three title fights in the main event, but middleweight champion Luke Rockhold and lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez both pulled out of the card due to injury.

Moreover, the Strikeforce light heavyweight title has been vacant ever since Dan Henderson returned to the UFC last year. Additionally, both that belt and the promotion’s heavyweight championship title have been noticeably vacant since 2011, with the later being abandoned by exiting superstar Alistair Overeem.

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Strikeforce: Champions Is Already Dead, Just Cancel the January Card

Look, I’m not a pessimist. I try to stay positive and see the bright side in everything.But every single time somebody mentions Strikeforce, I feel a pit in my stomach. It’s like we’re talking about a diseased family dog that’s overdue for a trip to th…

Look, I’m not a pessimist. I try to stay positive and see the bright side in everything.

But every single time somebody mentions Strikeforce, I feel a pit in my stomach. It’s like we’re talking about a diseased family dog that’s overdue for a trip to the vet.

Strikeforce was once great, and it hurts to see the upstart San Jose-based promotion being dragged through the dirt. Honestly, at this point, what else can be done to the company?

As it stands, I don’t even think there’s any point in looking forward to Strikeforce: Champions, the promotion’s final event. The current lineup is a pathetic, festering shell of its original self.

Really, why bother trying to keep the event together at all?

If everything had been done right, the main card would’ve been billed with nothing but title fights, headlined by Ronda Rousey and followed with Luke Rockhold, Nate Marquardt, Gilbert Melendez and Daniel Cormier.

But Rockhold and Melendez have already pulled out with injuries. Rousey is firmly under the UFC banner and won’t be coming back to give her home promotion a proper send-off.

Heck, you may as well call the January 12th card Strikeforce: Champion now that ex-UFC fighter Marquardt is the only one left who’s actually defending a belt.

And in all honesty, even if Lorenz Larkin is right about Rockhold ducking his last title defense in fear of looking bad on the last Strikeforce card, you really can’t blame the paper champion.

Why take the risk?

There’s no upside for anyone fighting in this event as the UFC has already made it obvious that they’re going to cherry-pick the biggest names available. Pragmatically, it’s just better to stay on the sidelines, call out some UFC fighters on Twitter and try to keep yourself in the headlines.

With the last two Strikeforce events in 2012 already canceled, it wouldn’t be a shock if the final event never happened.

In fact, that would be oddly fitting for the MMA promotion once known as the UFC’s biggest rival—a slow, fizzling death instead of going out with a huge bang.

So I’m not even expecting Strikeforce: Champions to happen.

Just get on with it, kill the card, and start merging the rosters sooner rather than later.

Besides, I doubt many Strikeforce fans are really that interested in watching Daniel Cormier beat the stuffing out of (hang on, let me look up this guy’s name) Dion Staring.

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.

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Strikeforce Announces Cormier, Melendez, Marquardt, Rockhold for January Card

Strikeforce is throwing three title fights and a heavyweight clash into the main card of their first 2013 show, which takes place on January 12 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.MMA Junkie broke the news today, revealing that the event wi…

Strikeforce is throwing three title fights and a heavyweight clash into the main card of their first 2013 show, which takes place on January 12 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

MMA Junkie broke the news today, revealing that the event will feature four of the biggest stars in the promotion. Earlier this morning, Nate Marquardt‘s first middleweight title defense against Tarec Saffiedine was leaked as one part of the main card.

With Strikeforce’s announcement, here’s how the lineup looks so far:

  • Daniel Cormier vs. Dion Staring (Heavyweight bout)
  • Luke Rockhold vs. Lorenz Larkin (Middleweight Championship)
  • Nate Marquardt vs. Tarec Saffiedine (Welterweight Championship)
  • Gilbert Melendez vs. Pat Healy (Lightweight Championship)

Most surprising is the reveal of Cormier‘s next opponent, Dion Staring—a relatively unknown Dutch heavyweight who trains with UFC title contender and former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem.

Staring is currently on a 9-1 run in his last 10 fights, with the majority of them taking place in the Netherlands. His most notable career opponents have been current UFC light heavyweight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Bellator veteran Damian Grabowski and international kickboxing champion Peter Graham.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker previously teased that women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey would also be featured on the card, but the No. 1 pound-for-pound female MMA fighter was not part of today’s announcement.

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