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Nate Marquardt plans to return to action next year. Nate “The Great” last competed inside the Octagon back in Nov. 2017. He dropped a split decision to Cezar Ferreira back in Nov. 2017. It was Marquardt’s third loss in a row and he an…
Nate Marquardt plans to return to action next year. Nate “The Great” last competed inside the Octagon back in Nov. 2017. He dropped a split decision to Cezar Ferreira back in Nov. 2017. It was Marquardt’s third loss in a row and he announced his retirement the following month. Nate Marquardt Eyeing 2020 Return To […]
The post Former UFC Title Challenger Nate Marquardt Plans 2020 Comeback appeared first on MMA News.
These six fighters defied the odds and turned their careers around in 2018.
The post Six Fighters Who Turned Their Careers Around In 2018 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.
Mixed martial arts is a crazy and unpredictable sport. It takes a special kind of individual to throw caution into the wind and risk their own physical wellbeing for the sake of entertainment.
There is no blueprint on how to become a fighter. We have seen fighters come from all different walks of life. There have been lifelong athletes that transition into MMA after their collegiate days, and we have seen real estate agents by day turn into savage cage fighters at night.
Likewise, some fighters hit the ground running in MMA, laying waste to opponents right from the very start of their careers. Other fighters don’t quite hit their fighting groove till much later in their careers.
One thing, however, does remain true in combat sports. and particularly MMA. That is you can always expect the unexpected. 2018 has provided mixed martial arts fans with some memorable moments, and with five months still left to go in the year, its a safe bet there are still many more heart-stopping outcomes still to come.
2018 has seen its fair share of comebacks inside the octagon, but we here at Lowkick wanted to put a different spin on the term “comeback.” We took a look back at the first half of 2018 to bring you our list of six fighters who have turned their fight careers around this year.
Here is our list:
There is perhaps no greater example of what one year can do for an MMA career than Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens.
Stephens first set foot into the Octagon back in 2007 at UFC 71. He would lose his debut against Din Thomas on that night, but here we are over a decade later, and “Lil’ Heathen” has never looked better.
In Stephens’ last outing, he destroyed rising Team Alpha Male contender Josh Emmett via KO at 1:35 of the second round of their main event at UFC on FOX 28 in February. Just one month prior to FOX 28 at UFC Fight Night 124, “Lil Heathen” took out highly-touted prospect Doo Ho Choi in a war that earned “Fight of the Night” honors.
Stephens is 2-0 in 2018 and plans on adding more Ws to the win column before year’s end. He was recently called upon to fill in for Max Holloway at UFC 226 after the champ was removed from the card for exhibiting concussion-like symptoms. “Lil’ Heathen” jumped at the short-notice opportunity, however, his would-be opponent Brian Ortega refused the fight.
Stephens now turns his sights to longtime former featherweight king Jose Aldo, who he will be facing in the co-main event of UFC on FOX 30 next week (July 28, 2018).
The post Six Fighters Who Turned Their Careers Around In 2018 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.
Nate Marquardt is calling it a career. Although he failed to win gold in the UFC, he still had a great career and was considered well-respected middleweight fighters in the game today. The former Strikeforce middleweight champion announced his retirement from professional mixed martial arts competition on Thursday. Marquardt began his career in 1999 and […]
The post Nate Marquardt Issues Farewell Retirement Message appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.
Nate Marquardt is calling it a career. Although he failed to win gold in the UFC, he still had a great career and was considered well-respected middleweight fighters in the game today.
The former Strikeforce middleweight champion announced his retirement from professional mixed martial arts competition on Thursday.
Marquardt began his career in 1999 and mainly fought under Pancrase in Japan, before signing with the UFC in 2005.
Once he was released in 2011, he fought under the Strikeforce banner and won the vacant welterweight title by knocking out current UFC champion Tyron Woodley.
Fast forward to 2013, he went back to the UFC and had a 3-8 run. His last win came against Tamdan McCrory in October 2016, which earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.
However, he dropped his next three fights against Sam Alvey, Vitor Belfort, and Cezar Ferreira.
Marquardt released a lengthy statement through his official website:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Since I became a Christian, this has been one of my favorite passages in the Bible. Jesus said we must become like children to enter the kingdom of heaven. The humility that a child has is shown in their dependency on and trust in their parents.
I have had many accomplishments and victories as well as many trials and upsets in my career. I have won 4 world titles, and I have subsequently lost three of them. I have had many winning and losing streaks. I have battled chronic injuries and had 6 surgeries. I have learned that I can trust God in every situation and need to put him first. After 22 years as an athlete in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, I believe God is calling me in another direction.
I want to thank everyone that has supported me throughout my career, including the UFC, Strikeforce, and Pancrase. I have many fans that have stuck by me in the ups and the downs, and I want you to know that I really appreciate it. I have been blessed to work with so many of the best coaches and training partners in the world, and I have much gratitude for every moment of it.
I cherish all the relationships that have been formed through this that sport we love. I am exceedingly grateful for those closest to me: my coaches, teammates, friends, wife, and family. Above all, I thank God for his provision, protection, patience, and guidance through my career.
I am also happy to say that I will still be involved in MMA on many levels. I will continue training in all aspects of MMA, and I will also continue to run my sports ministry, Resurrection Jiu-Jitsu. I am currently pursuing a degree at Gateway Seminary, and I plan on using my experience in MMA and the UFC on the mission field.
At this point, my family and I are praying for direction for where God is leading us globally and by what means. Wherever and however we go, I believe God will use MMA in some capacity, either teaching at a gym, coaching fighters, running a sports ministry, and/or teaching seminars. Either way, we are excited for this next season in our life as a family, and we are confident that God is directing our paths!”
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Nate Marquardt, who fought 25 times for the UFC, has announced his retirement from active competition. The 38-year-old is a former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger. Marquardt (35-19-2) made the announcement via his own personal website. “I…
Nate Marquardt, who fought 25 times for the UFC, has announced his retirement from active competition. The 38-year-old is a former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger. Marquardt (35-19-2) made the announcement via his own personal website. “I have had many accomplishments and victories as well as many trials and upsets in my career,” Marquardt […]
When is enough enough? For many of the best MMA fighters, that’s the toughest question to answer when it comes to ending their own careers in the cage. Whether it’s due to their natural fighting instincts, their continued need to make ends meet, a stubborn refusal to accept that their time has come and gone, […]
The post 10 Veteran UFC Stars Who Should Hang Up Their Gloves appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.
When is enough enough? For many of the best MMA fighters, that’s the toughest question to answer when it comes to ending their own careers in the cage.
Whether it’s due to their natural fighting instincts, their continued need to make ends meet, a stubborn refusal to accept that their time has come and gone, or just scant regard for their own well-being, many veteran stars end up delaying the inevitable far longer than they should.
The consequences for that can be devastating, and in this article, we’ll look at 10 high-profile UFC stars who have already traveled far down that path as they continue to put their long-term health and legacies at risk by delivering subpar performances and enduring repeated beatdowns in the Octagon.
Fighting is a fast-paced, notoriously unforgiving contest.
To be clear, we, as fans and/or writers can never tell a fighter when he or she should hang up their gloves, but at a certain point, it becomes difficult to watch our once-great idols sustain what could be life-altering trauma, and that pales in comparison to the heartache suffered by that fighter and their own family. With that said, let’s take a look at 10 formerly elite combatants who could avoid all (or at last most) of that by walking away right now.
For many years, Sanchez was hailed as having one of the best chins in the game, holding a proud record of having only being stopped once (due to a cut) in 34 fights stretched over a 14-year period, despite having been in numerous brutal and bloody battles from featherweight all the way up to middleweight.
Then in July of 2016 at the historic UFC 200 event, his chin finally gave way when Joe Lauzon flattened him in just 86 seconds.
Though he did win his next fight, worse was to come in 2017 as Sanchez suffered back-to-back knockouts against Al Iaquinta and Matt Brown in a matter of minutes.
Even before this recent decline, Sanchez’s penchant for slugfests had led to concerns that he was taking too much punishment in the Octagon, and if it hadn’t been for highly controversial split decision victories over Takanori Gomi and Ross Pearson, he would have been on a six-fight losing streak from 2012-2015.
Nevertheless, the 35-year-old warrior’s fighting spirit still burns bright and so he’s vowed not to retire, and unfortunately, with his record showing that he’s never lost more than two fights in a row, he’ll likely be allowed to continue to compete even though it’s clearly against his best interests.
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With every decision comes a consequence and for those fighters who took part in battle at UFC Fight Night 120, it’s their time to faces those consequences in the form of medical suspensions. Dustin Poirier vs. Anthony Pettis in a lightweight bout headlined this event which saw Poirier pick up the submission win while Matt […]
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With every decision comes a consequence and for those fighters who took part in battle at UFC Fight Night 120, it’s their time to faces those consequences in the form of medical suspensions.
Dustin Poirier vs. Anthony Pettis in a lightweight bout headlined this event which saw Poirier pick up the submission win while Matt Brown finished Diego Sanchez in a welterweight bout in the co-main event.
Rounding out the six bout main card was Andrei Arlovski vs. Junior Albini in a heavyweight bout, Nate Marquardt vs. Cezar Ferreira in a middleweight bout, Raphael Assuncao vs. Matthew Lopez in a bantamweight bout and Joe Lauzon vs. Clay Guida in a lightweight bout.
Some of the more notable suspensions include Marquardt, Assuncao, John Dodson, and Nina Ansaroff receiving 180 days layoffs. Here are the entire medical suspensions:
Nate Marquardt: suspended 180 days/30-day minimum or cleared by face CT
Raphael Assuncao: suspended 180 days/30-day minimum or cleared by x-ray of right ankle
John Dodson: suspended 180 days or cleared by x-ray of left hand
Nina Ansaroff: suspended 180 days/30 day-minimum or cleared by MRI of left knee
Anthony Pettis: suspended 60 days
Diego Sanchez: suspended 60 days
Cezar Ferreira: suspended 60 days
Matthew Lopez: suspended 60 days (KO)
Joe Lauzon: suspended 45 days
Court McGee: suspended 45 days
Dustin Poirier: suspended 30 days
Junior Albini: suspended 30 days
Marlon Moraes: suspended 30 days
Michel Quinones: suspended 30 days
UFC Fight Night 120 took place on Saturday, November 11, 2017 at Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Virginia.The main card aired on FOX Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card was split broadcasted on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass, at 6:30 p.m. ET.
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