Nate Marquardt A Former King Searches for a New Crown

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By Thomas Gerbasi

There are plenty of class acts in the world of mixed martial arts, definitely more than you’ll find in practically any professional sport today, and one of those people you will never hear a bad word about is UFC middleweight contender Nate Marquardt.

A soft-spoken gentleman of 27 years old, Marquardt is the type of guy to sign every autograph, take every picture, and even redo interviews with reporters whose tape breaks a week after the first one (guilty as charged).

That type of class is a great attribute to have in an era where it’s sorely lacking, but when you’re a fighter in a business where the squeaky wheel is often the one that gets oiled, it can be a problem. It’s been a particular issue with Marquardt, whose talent in the sport is matched by his previous accomplishments, which include recognition as a seven-time King of Pancrase while competing in Japan.

But when “Nate the Great” made his long-awaited UFC debut in August of 2005 with a less than explosive decision win against solid contender Ivan Salaverry, the fight barely made a ripple past diehard MMA fans. And while he rebounded with a quality win over Joe Doerksen at UFC 58 and a submission victory over Crafton Wallace last October, he is still – to many – the unknown man of the middleweight division.

“My first fight in the UFC was against Salaverry and I did well in that fight but I was pretty conservative, so I really don’t think the UFC fans that haven’t followed the sport really even know who I am yet,” he admits. “I had a good fight against Doerksen, and that’s probably the only fight that they’ve really seen of mine that was any good. So I’m hoping to put on a good show for them.”

Tomorrow night at the Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena in Hollywood, Florida, Marquardt gets another chance to make a first impression on casual MMA fans when he takes on grappling standout Dean Lister on the latest UFC Fight Night card. But as the swing bout, there are no guarantees that this matchup of middleweight contenders will see the light of day on Spike TV. Marquardt is confident it will though.

“I have faith that it will get put on TV,” he said. “We’re the swing bout and I feel like this fight is gonna be exciting and will get put on TV, so I’m not really too bothered by it. It’s out of my hands anyway, so I’m not gonna really worry about it. I’m just gonna go out and fight my best in every fight that I get.”

That’s the type of attitude Marquardt, a pro since three days before his 20th birthday, is noted for. You control what you can, and what you can’t, well, don’t get too stressed over it. It also seems to be a team philosophy for the fighters coming out of Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as guys like Marquardt, Rashad Evans, Keith Jardine, and Diego Sanchez don’t seem to get rattled by too much. It shows in their performances, and Marquardt definitely believes that joining up with the founder of Gaidojutsu has changed his career in a number of positive ways.

“It’s probably made me a completely different fighter,” admits the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, a native of Lander, Wyoming. “Obviously, I learned a lot, became a lot stronger physically and mentally, and I get the best training in the world, the best coaching in the world, and aside from all that, I have an extra bit of confidence going into my fight because I have all these top fighters that I train with and I can step into the Octagon and know that the guy I’m fighting can’t be any tougher than them.”

Against Lister, he will be facing one of the premier grapplers in the game, but also a fighter who probably isn’t willing to stand with him. It makes putting a gameplan together pretty easy.

“Obviously the smart thing to do is to keep it standing,” said Marquardt. “That’s going to be his weak point, and I’m very strong there, and though I do feel comfortable on the ground with him, I’m not gonna try to take it to his area of strength. So it makes it pretty easy as far as gameplan because we both know each other’s gameplan and it’s gonna come down to who executes it better.”

When it comes to execution and technical acumen, there are few better than Marquardt. That’s been proven over the course of 34 pro fights (27 wins, 6 losses, 1 draw), which include victories over the aforementioned trio as well as over Yves Edwards, Daiju Takase, Shonie Carter, and Kazuo Misaki overseas. Now he just has to convince a US crowd that he’s ready for a shot at current UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva, a task he embraces.

“I actually kinda like it because there’s really not that much pressure on me,” he admits. “When you’re the champ or have been the champ, they expect a certain thing from you, and if they don’t see what they’re looking for, they might be upset. But this way, I like being the underdog going into a fight. I don’t think I ever lost a fight being the underdog because I go into a fight with a strong mental game and I think it’s a great situation for me.”

And though he may be under the radar now, if he does eventually reign over the 185-pound weight class, America likes nothing better than the ‘overnight success’ that took over eight years to get here.

“It’s always been a dream for me,” said Marquardt of becoming champion. “To be the Pancrase champ was a dream as well, but the first MMA event I ever saw was the UFC, so for me, it’s just about getting to that title fight and winning the belt, and I think I’ll be just as excited as the first time.”

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