MMA Fighting reports that Nate Marquardt has returned to fight under the Zuffa banner with Strikeforce. The welterweight’s signing ends an exile that began last June when he was dismissed on the eve of his main event against Rick Story.
Post-UFC Marquardt signed with UK promotion BAMMA but never fought for the company. His last fight was a win in the UFC last March. Adding Marquardt to the Strikeforce roster provides some notoriety and depth to the company’s welterweight division.
Marquardt’s return was announced on Fuel TV’s “UFC Tonight.”
Payout Perspective:
Marquardt’s dismissal was due to elevated testosterone levels claimed to be related to hormone replacement therapy. While Marquardt’s departure from the UFC was somewhat messy, his return to Zuffa is beneficial for both. For Strikeforce, it provides the roster with a notable figure that can spark the welterweight division. For Marquardt, its a second chance with Zuffa and leaves open the possibility of returning to the UFC. The one issue that may hinder Marquardt is the potential stigma that he was terminated from the UFC due to PED use. Marquardt has not had a fight since last March so no one knows how he will be when he returns.
Nate will quickly realize that MMA is all about match ups. The UFC/Zuffa/Dana never give the people i call “head aches” good style fights. Every fighter has styles of fighters they just cant beat even Anderson. Being in the good graces of the guys who choose your opponent is always a good idea. Nate has always struggled with great wrestlers. The one place he is horrible at is on his back. Of course with the news he is signing with Strikeforce comes the news they are trying to set him up with wrestler Tyrone Woodley for the vacant title. Not an impossible fight for him but a very tough fight style wise. I dont think we will see many “gimme” fights for Nate in the near future. Nate is a great name for the rest of the SF class to build on. Anyone who beats him will get instant credibility.
BS,
I agree. Woodley is a good fight b/c it determines whether Woodley is the real deal. Beating Nate could be the next step in his career. For Nate, a win over Woodley means he is back in main events and a restoration of his career.
It’s not like he was going to go back to Pancrase. This just goes to show that for top athletes, Zuffa is the only place where they can adequately monetize their talent.
Nate had problems against wrestlers that were HUGE middleweights (Sonnen, Okami); I doubt Woodley has the strength to hold him down, although we have yet to see Nate actually compete at welterweight.
Mr Van. That is true both were big guys. But that doesnt mean they had to be. Nate has never fought anyone else with even average wrestling. So he has lost to the only wrestling based fighters he has faced. Woodley might not run him over but i think he can mix up his striking and wrestling and give Nate big problems and the biggest problem Nate will have is Woodleys speed. Woodleys striking isnt that great but he will appear better than he is because of the speed. All that combined i think he outworks Nate for a decison. By the time the fight actually happens Nate could be inactive for a year and a half. This will make it even harder on him in addition to not knowing how he stacks up at 170 and how he reacts to the weight cut. Also how he does without having an extra dose of Test that he was getting in his last fights to get him through work outs. Lots of unknowns but most suggest we wont be getting the best Nate verses a bad style fight for him. I will it is better for Nate to get Woodley now rather than later. He is still green and unpolished in many area’s.
2 fights 2 wins…. Back to the UFC. Hope he does things right this time. He’s good people and people make mistakes. PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE TOO.