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Tag: Nate Marquardt

Gambling Addiction Enabler: UFC 128 Edition

(Something’s different here. I just can’t put my finger on it)

It kind of snuck up on you there, didn’t it? Don’t worry, us too. Funny, we must’ve had other stuff on our minds this week because it feels like we haven’t given UFC 128 the attention it probably deserves. Without the UFC’s historic acquisition of that other company whose name already escapes us, this weekend’s main event featuring largely overlooked champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and insanely hyped challenger Jon Jones would be one of the most hotly anticipated fights of the year. Instead, it feels as if it’s already on top of us and we haven’t even figured out if Jones and Rashad Evans are still boys yet.

Anyway, you know what you came here for. As always, the odds for this week’s event come to us from Sportsbook.com and our picks are presented for entertainment purposes only. Also, for the purposes of WINNING MAJOR WADS OF CASH! What! … yeah … ahem … you’ll have to excuse us, we’re pretty jacked about this one. After the jump find our foolproof scheme for checking major bank at UFC 128, all without leaving your couch.

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Caption Contest: Win a T-Shirt From Alchemist Clothing!

Nate Marquardt MMA t-shirt Alchemist
(Nate Marquardt’s UFC 128 walkout shirt — just one of many fine shirts available at AlchemistClothing.com)

You may know Alchemist as the MMA management company fronted by MC Hammer. You may not know that Alchemist has its own clothing line, featuring signature shirts created for its stable of fighters including Nate Marquardt, Jorge Rivera, and Stefan Struve. To help spread the word, Alchemist is giving us three t-shirts to give away to CagePotato readers. As always, there’s a catch.

Check out the photo after the jump of Tim Kennedy fist-posing next to his personal stewardesses, and write a clever caption in the comments section. Submit your entries by Friday morning at 9 a.m. ET, and we’ll announce three winners later that day; if you’re one of them, you get an Alchemist shirt of your choice. Any questions? For more free swag, ‘Like’ Alchemist on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. They do giveaways more often than Charlie Sheen does pornstars. (#hey-oh #topicalhumor)

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Trevor Wittman: The Octagon Is Too Big for Mirko Cro Cop

Trevor Wittman Brendan Schaub
(“When you lose one fight it’s a bad night, but when you lose three it’s a shitty night.” – Wittman on what’s at stake this weekend.)

One of the most respected striking coaches in the game, Trevor Wittman, will have his hands full on March 19th, with three of his fighters competing at the long anticipated UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones event in Newark, New Jersey. Eliot Marshall will look to make a successful return to the UFC against Luiz “Banha” Cane, Nate Marquardt will square off against Dan Miller, and Brendan Schaub will face the toughest challenge of his career against the legendary Mirko Cro Cop.

Wittman is a head coach at the Grudge Training Center, which is located at the City of Wheat Ridge, suburbs of Denver, Colorado. Grudge Training Center is represented by top ranked MMA fighters such as Nate Marquardt, Brendan Schaub, Gerald Harris, Shane Carwin and many others. Here’s what Trevor Wittman had to say about the upcoming UFC 128 fight card, the evolution of Mixed Martial Arts, ZUFFA’s purchase of Strikeforce and much more.

Read the interview at Lowkick.com

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Following destruction in Japan, Akiyama pulls out of bout at UFC 128

We feel you, bro.

Those of you living under a rock may not have heard, but the future state of MMA is the least of Japan’s problems right now. Friday’s devastating earthquake not only moved the entire “city” of Japan eight feet, but it also shifted the Earth’s axis. Did you read that? It shifted the fucking planet’s axis. If that measly butterfly flapping its wings in Tokyo could cause big changes worldwide, you’ve already gathered that this little doozy is going to have an effect as well.

But I don’t want to bore you with the details of the Japanese fending off a potential nuclear armageddon, not when there’s big picture stuff like fighters being pulled from the March 19th UFC 128 card. Though he and his family are reportedly safe and out of harm’s way, Yoshihiro Akiyama has understandably withdrawn from his bout with Nate Marquardt.

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Disgusting Injury of the Day: Justin Salas Got His Foot Tore Up Fighting Rob Emerson Saturday Night

 
(Someone’s gonna need some Dr. Scholl’s gel insoles. PicProps Brawlin’ Fight Fotos.)

You would assume that in the year 2011, with all of the slip-related injuries that have occured over the years that were attributed to the silk screened graphics on the mat, that athletic commissions would address the issue and come up with alternative means of printing ads on the canvas.

If you don’t think that the issue needs to be discussed, ask Nate Marquardt and Shane Carwin‘s training partner Justin Salas (10-3), who fought UFC veteran Rob Emerson for the lightweight title at Full Force Fight’s event in Colorado Saturday night if it’s a problem.

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Video: Rashad Evans is Going to Hurt Shogun…Or At Least Make Him Feel Very Uncomfortable


(Video courtesy YouTube/nathanmarquardt)

It looks like Rashad Evans has taken a page out of number one UFC lightweight contender Gray Maynard’s training manual to get ready for his upcoming light heavyweight  championship bout with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

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UFC Booking Alert: Nate Marquardt vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama, Stefan Struve vs. Travis Browne

Nate Marquardt magazine cover MMA UFC Muscle and FitnessYoshihiro Akiyama UFC MMA Maxim Korea Korean magazine cover
(Not pictured: Stefan Struve’s cover for ‘Tall-Ass Honkey Weekly’.)

No, Yoshhiro Akiyama will not be taking on a convicted white-collar criminal in his next appearance. ESPN reports that Akiyama will instead face off against Nate Marquardt at UFC 128: Shogun vs. Evans, March 19th in Newark. The Japanese middleweight star is coming off two consecutive losses against Chris Leben (humiliating!) and Michael Bisping (slightly less humiliating, but still!), and likely needs a victory to keep his contract. Marquardt is coming off his own underwhelming loss against Yushin Okami at UFC 122, but will certainly be the favorite in this matchup.

Speaking of notable bookings, heavyweight contender Stefan Struve — who has slugged his way to back-to-back wins over Christian Morecraft and Sean McCorkle — has drawn another rising prospect for his next outing. According to MMAJunkie, Struve will return at UFC 130 (May 28th, Las Vegas) against undefeated Travis Browne, who just suffered through a foul-filled draw against Cheick Kongo at UFC 120. The only other match reported for UFC 130 at this point is Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story.

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Greg Jackson Refutes Dana White’s Claims That His Fighters Are Boring and That He and His Coaches Employ Strange Strategies


(Video courtesy TheFightFix)

In the interview above that was conducted after Nate Marquardt’s somewhat uninspired UFC 123 loss to Yushin Okami, Dana White spoke with CSN’s The Fight Fix about the conservative style of Team Jackson fighters.

According to the UFC president, Greg Jackson seems to take normally exciting fighters and make them cautious, unexciting round winners — a trend that fans and pundits alike have voiced their bitter distaste about ad-nauseum recently.

"I have a lot of respect for Greg Jackson. It’s not like I don’t like him or I’m trying to say something bad about him, but there’s a pattern there. The game plans they come up with and a lot of the corner work is very weird. You’ll see guys who are traditionally exciting fighters, but when they go to the Greg Jackson camp they become safety first fighters," White explained. "Why wouldn’t you tell him ‘go for broke in this third round? This is a close fight. At the end of the day, my opinion means nothing. I’m not their corner man. I’m not the trainer. I’m just the promoter. I’m just being honest. There’s obviously some consistency there with the Jackson camp with the safety first."

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UFC 122 Aftermath: No Really, Take It Easy Out There, Guys

Fuck, that was fucking terrible. Last night we got an up-close-and-personal look at what happens when one of the UFC’s notoriously weak overseas cards doesn’t turn out to be better in practice than on paper. And Nation? It was not pretty. When these haphazard, garage-sale-style European stinkbombs don’t catch lightning in a bottle and don’t exceed our already low expectations, all you’re left with are a bunch of lackluster fights featuring guys nobody cares about. That might be fine for Strikeforce, but frankly we expect more from the UFC.

Oh, did we mention this bad boy was on tape delay? Yeah it was, so unless you were able to spend the day studiously avoiding all electronic media you knew who was going to win anyway, in which case you were probably better served to just stay up late to watch Manny Pacquiao beat up that dude with the Dave Navarro beard. Rumor has it that was pretty shitty too. Coupled with UFCs 119 and 120 it’s hard to remember the last time Our Fearless Leader did three shows this uninspiring in such quick succession. At this point, the supercharged midgets of the WEC can’t get here fast enough. Seriously, it’ll be nice to see a few fights where somebody shows a little urgency.

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UFC 122 (Somewhat) Live Blog

Without giving away too much of tonight’s tape-delayed UFC 122 decisionfest show that went down in Germany today, we will tell you that the guaranteed slugfest between Jorge Rivera and Alessio Sakara got yanked from the main card of the event due to Sakara pulling out of the bout today because of illness.

We’ll be "live" tonight at 9:00 pm ET to give those of you who don’t have cable, who are too cheap to go to a bar or who think we’re really your friends and want to hang out on a Saturday night a rundown of the action via the Spike TV re-broadcast.

Check out the preliminary card results and main card play-by-play after the jump:

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Landslide Alert: 80 Percent of Pros Pick Marquardt Over Okami


("I feel like famous comedian, how you say, Lodney Dangelfierd." Propers: UFC.com)

Man, this does not portend good things for Yushin Okami at UFC 122 tonight. Where most odds makers and journalists see Okami’s alleged No. 1 contender battle with Nate Marquardt shaping up as a fairly close fight, the professional fighters surveyed as part of Sherdog’s super-scientific recurring “Pros Pick” piece appear to think Nate the Great has this in the bag. Of the 48 fighters contacted 40 see Marquardt getting the win, with just four pulling the lever for Okami and four undecided. That’s 83.3 percent for Marquardt, which for the record makes this survey only slightly less lopsided than the one conducted for Randy Couture vs. James Toney at UFC 118, when just three of 54 polled fighters tabbed Toney (92.5 percent for Couture).

The numbers become even more lopsided once you consider that one of the guys picking Okami is Team Quest training partner Matt Lindland, and even he is hedging his bet – in classic Lindland style — by pre-supposing a conspiracy against Okami on the part of the ringside officials.

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UFC 122 Weigh-In Results

Nate Marquardt Yushin Okami UFC 122 zombies poster
(A surprise headshot will kill them. But don’t ever turn your back on a zombie, even if they feel really slippery. Props: UFC)

From today’s weigh-ins in Oberhausen, Germany. No surprises here…

MAIN CARD
Nate Marquardt (186) vs. Yushin Okami (185)
Jorge Rivera (185) vs. Alessio Sakara (186)
Dennis Siver (155) vs. Andre Winner (155)
Amir Sadollah (170) vs. Peter Sobotta (169)
Krzysztof Soszynski (206) vs. Goran Reljic (205)

PRELIMINARY CARD
Alexandre Ferreira (204) vs. Vladimir Matyushenko (205)
Pascal Krauss (170) vs. Mark Scanlon (170)
Duane Ludwig (170) vs. Nick Osipczak (171)
Rob Kimmons (184) vs. Kyle Noke (185)
Seth Petruzelli (205) vs. Karlos Vemola (205)
Kris McCray (171) vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha (170)

Come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow night as we post live(-ish) play-by-play from the tape-delayed Spike TV broadcast of UFC 122: Marquardt vs. Okami, beginning at 9 p.m. ET.

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‘UFC 122: Marquardt vs. Okami’ — Extended Video Preview


(Props: fromhit)

UFC 122 may not be stacked — it’s Germany, those haters should be glad they’re getting anything — but it’ll be broadcast free on Spike, it’s full of potentially exciting matchups, and it’ll have serious implications for the UFC’s middleweight division. In the main event, Nate Marquardt and Yushin Okami will face off for a title shot against the winner of Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort. Marquardt and Okami are two guys who have spent their UFC careers clawing their way almost to the top, but falling just short of the glory. Earlier in his UFC career, Marquardt was TKO’d by Anderson Silva in the Spider’s first official title defense at UFC 73; this year, Marquardt suffered a decision loss to Chael Sonnen, snapping a fearsome three-knockout run.

As for Okami, the Japanese standout was outpointed in a previous #1-contender match against Rich Franklin at UFC 72, and was also stymied by Chael Sonnen last October. In other words, UFC 122′s headliners have endured the same setbacks — and they both know that the big opportunities don’t last forever. It’s do or die time. At Jackson’s MMA and Grudge Training Center, Marquardt is getting the best preparation that this country has to offer, and he’s a powerful, vicious striker. Okami is a deceptively strong fighter with great conditioning, who might be able to smother Marquardt just like Sonnen did.

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Marquardt Says Fans and the Media Need to Wait to Hear Sonnen’s Side Before Labelling Him a Cheater


("What do you think about Syntha-6, Nate? I’ve been showing impressive gains while taking it.")

During an appearance on The Bum Rush Radio Show last week, UFC middleweight contender Nate Marquardt spoke about Chael Sonnen’s recent alleged positive test for elevated levels of testosterone.

Having been accused of PED use himself in 2005 after a positive test result for Nandralone netted him a six-month suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission following his decision win over Ivan Salaverry in his UFC debut, Marquardt is keeping an open mind when it comes to Sonnen’s situation.

Nate has always maintained that he never knowingly took the banned substance he tested positive for and that he believes the steroid was introduced to his system by dirty supplements he was taking prior to the bout. There have been several cases of PED-tainted supplements being sold in the U.S. and Canada over the years, so his story had merit, which is likely what led to NSAC lowering his suspension by one month.

He warns against MMA fans and members of the media persecuting Sonnen before he has his day in court December 2 when he meets with the California State Athletic Commission to appeal the one-year suspension and $2,500 fine he was handed down in September as a result of his alleged infraction.

"Until they’ve seen the test results and have researched it and know what they’re talking about, they should probably just [wait and] listen to what [Chael has to say]," he suggests.

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Listen to The Bum Rush Radio Show Episode 9 With Members of the Potato Nation and UFC Middleweight Contender Nate Marquardt


Our first interactive edition of The Bum Rush Radio Show went really well yesterday thanks to our loyal readers and listeners who really made the episode.

We’re thinking about doing a live segment for every episode moving forward, so let us know what you think about the idea and whether or not you’d all be interested in participating in future shows.

If you didn’t catch Episode 9 live yesterday, we spoke a bit about UFC 121 and the UFC-WEC merger as well as a glut of other topics including how CP came to be. Some of our loyal readers got in on the action sharing their favorite Cage Potato moments and how they stumbled across our little site.

Rounding out the show, we spoke to UFC middleweight contender Nate Marquardt about his UFC 122 opponent Yushin Okami, PEDs, the opinion of some that Team Jackson fighters play it safe and taking Internet trolls to task for real.

Have a listen, give us your suggestions for future episodes and tell us what you like and what you hate about the show.

If you don’t have iTunes (which you really should) and you can’t listen to the live player at the top of the page, you can download the show HERE.

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Bisping to Get Loser of Marquardt-Okami?

In a recent interview with Fighters Only, UFC president Dana White revealed that the next time Michael Bisping steps through the doors of the Octagon to compete, he will be staring across the cage at a top five opponent.

Considering the options, it’s a pretty safe bet that said opponent will be the loser of the UFC 122 bout between Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt.

Let’s look at the simple deductive reasoning we used that helped us come to our conclusion:

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Reports: Vitor Belfort Out of UFC 122 Fight With Yushin Okami; Marquardt to Replace

Vitor Belfort UFC MMA
("We gotta take it again, guys. Some dumb jackass wandered into the shot and wasn’t fist-posing." Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)

When it comes to the UFC’s middleweight division, we expect chaos, bro, every day. Just two days after Vitor Belfort vs. Yushin Okami was announced as a #1 contender’s match for UFC 122, new reports claim that Belfort has been forced to pull out of the match, and will be replaced by fellow top contender Nate Marquardt, who defeated Rousimar Palhares via TKO (stupidity) last week at UFC Fight Night 22. Due to the shoulder injury that benched Belfort for the better part of this year, the former light-heavyweight champ hasn’t competed since his UFC return fight against Rich Franklin at UFC 103.

Adding an odd wrinkle to this story is Belfort’s trainer Shawn Tompkins, who semi-responded to the reports on Facebook late last night, writing, "you will recieve Vitor Belfort news very soon…All I can tell you as his coach is that he is 100% healthy." Belfort might be physically sound, but that doesn’t mean he’s not withdrawing from the event for other reasons. Could the UFC be promoting him to an immediate title shot at UFC 125 in Chael Sonnen‘s place? We’ll update you when we know more…

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Even Rousimar Palhares’ Coach Thinks He Acted Like An Idiot Against Nate Marquardt


("Stop it? My naughtiness, I thought you said, ‘Snap it.’"

When Rousimar Palhares inexplicably stopped to tell the ref that he thought Nate Marquardt’s leg felt greasy in their Ultimate Fight Night 22 bout Wednesday night, armchair fighters, referees and coaches alike collectively yelled, "What the hell are you doing?" at their television screens.

It turns out, they weren’t the only ones yelling.

Palhares’ longtime Brazilian Top Team trainer and coach, Murilo Bustamante told Tatame that he too was screaming from the sidelines for his charge not to let up and says that they have learned from the rookire mistake that may have cost Rousimar a title shot in the near future.

“We’ve talked about it a lot, he knows what he did wrong. I guarantee it won’t happen again, he learned the lesson on the worst possible way, paying for his distraction and lack of naughtiness," Bustamante explained. "Maybe the other fighter could stop to see what it was about, but Nate kept on going and didn’t do anything illegal. It was a lesson learned. It happens.”

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UFC Fight Night 22 Aftermath: Press Conference Highlights, Bonuses, Apologies + More


(Props: Heavy)

The UFC handed out $40,000 performance bonuses to five fighters following UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs. Palhares, including two separate "Submission of the Night" awards. The honorees are:

Knockout of the Night: Brian Foster, for his 67-second storming of Forrest Petz, which was the lone stoppage on the preliminary card. Petz now drops to 0-2 in his current UFC stint, and will most likely be shown the door.

Submission of the Night (1): Cole Miller, for dropping Ross Pearson with punches in the second round of their fight, then icing him with a rear-naked choke. Miller has scored the SotN award in three of his last five appearances, and officially enters the UFC Performance Bonus Leaderboard

Submission of the Night (2): Charles Oliveira, who pushed his record to 14-0 with a huge win over TUF 8 winner Efrain Escudero, secured via standing rear-naked choke in the third round. Though he had trouble getting Escudero to the mat in the first two frames, Oliveira showed off his tenacity in the victory, as well as some impressively unorthodox striking.

Fight of the Night: Kyle Kingsbury and Jared Hamman, for their fast-paced three-round brawl in the prelims. Despite a third-round rally from Hamman, Kingsbury’s domination and damage in the first two frames secured him 29-28 scores from all three judges.

Some other notes on the fights…

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‘UFC Fight Night 22: Marquardt vs. Palhares’ — Live Results and Commentary

Nate Marquardt Chandella Powell UFC weigh-ins photos
(Sometimes you forget how enormous Nate Marquardt is, and then you see him standing next to Chandella Powell and you’re like "damn, bro." / Photo courtesy of the UFN 22 Weigh In Pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.com)

What happens when you put two massively-jacked, notoriously aggressive middleweights in a cage together, one of whom is returning from a three-month suspension for his complete disregard of his opponents’ safety? Great things, we’re sure! Live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC Fight Night 22 event on Spike will be poppin’ off after the jump starting at 8 p.m. ET. Check your local listings before wading into spoilers, and refresh the page every few minutes to get all the latest results for Marquardt vs. Palhares, Efrain "El Gordo" Escudero vs. Charles Oliveira, Jim Miller vs. Gleison Tibau, and the outspoken Cole Miller vs. TUF 9 champ Ross Pearson. Be sure to stick around afterwards for the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck — or just read our episode recap tomorrow morning.

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Marquardt vs. Palhares Taken Off UFC 118, Will Now Serve as UFN 22′s Main Event

Rousimar Palhares Lucio Linhares
(Rousimar Palhares finishes Lucio Linhares at UFC 107 last December. Five of Palhares’s last seven wins have come via heel-hook submission. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly)

With Alan Belcher‘s main event fight against Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 22 (September 15, Austin) nixed due to an eye injury, it’s now being reported that the Nate Marquardt vs. Rousimar Palhares feature scheduled for UFC 118 (August 28, Boston) will be pushed back two and a half weeks to serve as the Austin card’s headliner. Maia hasn’t been officially dropped from the UFN 22 lineup yet, though it seems likely that he’ll get a replacement opponent on a future event.

As for UFC 118, some shifting will need to be done to fill the empty main card slot, and potentially fill the hole that the replacement could create in the Spike TV Prelim broadcast. The lineup currently looks like this…

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Exclusive: Nate Marquardt Talks UFC 118 Fight Against Rousimar Palhares, Breaks Down Silva vs. Sonnen


Sal Mora Video Interview for CagePotato.com with Nate Marquardt – Watch more Sports Videos

Coming back from his upset decision loss against Chael Sonnen at UFC 109, Nate Marquardt will look to regain his fire at UFC 118 (August 28th, Boston) against Rousimar Palhares, the longtime asshole who most recently caught a 90-day suspension for not letting go of Tomasz Drwal’s ankle at UFC 111. Our buddy Sal Mora caught up to Nate this weekend to get his thoughts on the matchup, UFC 117‘s Sonnen vs. Silva headliner, and more. Some highlights:

On his loss to Sonnen: "I didn’t follow my gameplan, and I paid for it. I put on a good show, but mentally I wasn’t there…I fought a wrestler exactly how you’re not supposed to fight a wrestler — just stepping straight forward, trying to knock him out with every punch. So, I learned my lesson. I put on a good fight so I think that’s important as well, but I definitely plan on being a lot stronger mentally this next fight."

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UFC Booking Update: Marquardt and Sakara Get New Opponents, Lauzon Booked for Boston + More

Nate Marquardt Rachelle Leah UFC James McSweeney
("The creepy guy behind the ring? Don’t worry Rachelle, that’s just James McSweeney. He’ll probably ask you for a lock of your hair before you leave, but he’s cool." / Photo courtesy of twitter.com/nathanmarquardt)

– Though Nate Marquardt and Alessio Sakara were slated to meet at UFC 116 in July, Sakara has postponed his Octagon return due to the recent death of his father. So, the UFC did some re-shuffling and came up with the following: Sakara will now compete at UFC 118 (August 28th, Boston) against Jorge Rivera, who picked up his third-straight win in March when he wrecked Nate Quarry. As for Marquardt, he will also likely return in August (either UFC 118 or UFC 117), against Rousimar Palhares, who you may know as the asshole who holds his submissions for too long.

– Speaking of the UFC’s Boston show, hometown kid Joe Lauzon will try to rebound from his lopsided decision loss against Sam Stout when he meets up with British contender Terry Etim. Etim had a four-fight UFC win-streak snapped last month in Abu Dhabi when he fell to an armbar submission against Rafael Dos Anjos.

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UFC Booking Alert: Hamill vs. Jardine Set for TUF 11 Finale, Nelson/Kongo and Marquardt/Sakara Reported for UFC 116

Roy Nelson Fedor Emelianenko MMA
(Roy vs. Fedor, rib-eating contest, no wet-naps allowed. MAKE IT HAPPEN, DANA.)

Spike TV has confirmed that the previously reported matchup between Matt Hamill and Keith Jardine will headline the TUF 11 finale (June 19th, Las Vegas). Hamill is coming off his DQ "victory" over Jon Jones via 12-to-6 elbow annihilation, while Jardine has eaten three straight losses against Quinton Jackson, Thiago Silva, and Ryan Bader; you’d have to assume that this is his last chance to score a victory if he wants to keep his gig with the UFC. Not sure if the match deserves a headlining spot, but we’re interested to see what happens.

According to a recent Twitter post, Roy Nelson will likely be taking on Cheick Kongo in his next match, which early reports are pegging to UFC 116 (July 3rd, Las Vegas). Nelson most recently scored a 39-second knockout of Stefen Struve at "Florian vs. Gomi," while Cheick Kongo snapped a two-fight losing streak by beating down Paul Buentello at "Vera vs. Jones." Which means that Junior Dos Santos is now completely out of opponents.

— Speaking of UFC 116, Sportsnet‘s Showdown Joe Ferraro first passed along rumors that the stacked event will also host bouts between Nate Marquardt and Alessio Sakara, and Brendan Schaub vs. Chris Tuchscherer. MMA Junkie has since confirmed those reports. UFC 116′s current lineup is after the jump; kill whoever you have to in order to get tickets.

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UFC 109 Aftermath Notes: End of Night Bonuses, Mark Coleman’s Future + More


(Chael Sonnen explains that it’s the Ultimate *Fighting* Championship, not the Ultimate Mitt-Hitting, High-Altitude Training, Flipping a Tire Around, Screaming the Word "Yes" Championship. Props: MMA Fighting)

Following an expectation-exceeding night of action at UFC 109, the UFC handed out $60,000 pay-bumps to the following competitors:

Fight of the Night: Chael Sonnen and Nate Marquardt, for their bloody 15-minute grind, in which Sonnen survived a nasty choke attempt in the third round to secure the decision victory and earn a middleweight title shot.

Knockout of the Night: Matt Serra, for beating down Frank Trigg and proving that his hands are always dangerous, even if they’re on the end of very short arms.

Submission of the Night: Paulo Thiago, for putting Mike Swick to sleep with a D’Arce choke after knocking him to the mat in the second round of their fight. Thiago: 2, AKA: 1.

In other news…

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MMA FightPicker Head-to-Head: UFC 109 Edition


(Couture vs. Coleman hype video by Genghis Con. Respect your elders, son.)

ATTENTION, POTATO NATION: It’s Friday afternoon, which means there’s still time to join MMA FightPicker and submit your predictions for tomorrow night’s UFC 109 card. For the thousands of players who have already signed up, we thank you, and we want you to know that we’ll be battling alongside you. In fact, BF and BG have both joined "Palooka Pool 30 #173" in an effort to determine a house champion. (Ed. note: The loser of this challenge will have to get a tattoo on his ass that says "Ben owns this. Not me, the other Ben.") So please join a FightPicker pool if you haven’t already, then take a look at how we’re answering the questions this week…

1. Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman at UFC 109: Who will win?
BF: Randy Couture. If Couture can only beat one type of fighter on the UFC roster, it’s the type that Coleman happens to be: old, a little bit slow, and too dependent on his wrestling ability.
BG: Randy Couture. Couture is the master of the gameplan. Coleman drives around Vegas for two days with his low-fuel light on because he’s always late to practice, and runs out of gas on the 215 even though he "put that little extra in there" to begin with. Difference in mental preparation, is what I’m saying.

2. Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman: Who will score the first takedown?
BF: Randy Couture. This is a little tougher to call, because sometimes the first takedown is determined in part by who’s gunning for takedowns right out of the gate, which should be Coleman. I still think Couture can stifle him until he’s ready to work for something out of the clinch, maybe early in the second round.
BG: Randy Couture. Ditto to all that. You might see these two guys try to prove a point by slugging for a couple rounds, but the Natural will eventually put Coleman on his back from the clinch.

3. Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen: Who will win?
BF: Nate Marquardt. Chael Sonnen says he doesn’t know what tools he has to beat Marquardt with. It might be the most sensible thing he’s said in weeks.
BG: Nate Marquardt. Okay, agreeing with you is starting to get very boring. I’d better start making some ridiculous picks to liven things up around here…

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Does Chael Sonnen Have Your Attention Yet?

Chael Sonnen
(‘Oh, all the free kittens are gone? That’s cool. You might want to take that ad out of the paper. Just, you know, so somebody like me doesn’t get his hopes up only to have them crushed and ground into a fine, depressing powder. But whatever.’)

If somehow you didn’t know who Chael Sonnen was before this week, chances are you do now.  He’s spent the run-up to his fight with Nate Marquardt at UFC 109 making inflammatory statements about almost everyone but his opponent.  I spoke to Sonnen for this SI.com feature on Saturday night’s bout, and as expected it turned out to be an interesting conversation.  Here, for your enjoyment, are selected outtakes from that talk.

Lately you’ve been making waves with your comments about Anderson Silva, saying he actually speaks perfect English but hates the media too much to talk to them. I guess I’m wondering, if it’s not a ploy to get attention, why go after Anderson now?

I didn’t really say anything about Anderson. All I said is what you said there, and that’s no big deal. Once I destroy Nate Marquardt in a few days I will set my sights on him and I will really let it go. Believe me, when I sink my teeth into this guy, those comments aren’t going to seem like anything. I was making a very fair observation. Anderson Silva speaks English. Any time the media comes around he has such disdain for you guys that it’s ‘se habla Espanol.’ He doesn’t have to talk to the media, and in fact he refuses to, and yet the media goes out and strokes his ego and puts him on the cover of everything. It’s the craziest thing I’ve seen.

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Videos: Joe Rogan’s Locker Room Stalker, Aoki and Hirota Got Beef + More


(Props: letsfindjesus via Fightlinker)

As much as it seems that Joe Rogan has the world’s most kickass life, there are drawbacks to the kind of fame that comes from UFC color-commentary, stand-up comedy tours, and unconventional game shows. For instance, you sometimes have to deal with your genitals being stared at by sweaty, overweight teenagers, who are so brazen about their locker-room lust that even the presence of a video-camera doesn’t scare them away. Though let’s be honest, if Joe wasn’t a member of 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, that creepy kid would probably be staring at some other guy’s dork, famous or not. But there is a ray of hope: According to a mole we have planted in the gym, Fatty Hogwatcher was recently banished from 10th Planet due to his meat-gazing and many other bizarre offenses. So rest easy, Mr. Rogan — unless this kid decides to move his stalking directly to your house, in which case you’re in for a world of hurt.

After the jump: Genghis Con’s look back at the rivalry between Shinya Aoki and Mizuto Hirota, which ended with Hirota suffering a broken arm and a middle finger in his face. Plus, GSP and Nate Marquardt throw down in the wrestling room at the University of Northern Colorado.

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Videohype: Lawler vs. Manhoef by Genghis Con, Chael Sonnen Is Supposed to Lose + More


(Props: GenghisConMMA via BloodyElbow)

Of Robbie Lawler‘s 18 wins, 15 have come via KO/TKO; of Melvin Manhoef‘s 24 wins, 23 have come via KO/TKO. We may not agree with Lawler’s strategy going into tomorrow night’s fight, but sometimes you just have to say "fuck it, this is going to be a slugfest, and it’s going to be awesome." Genghis Con‘s preview compilation for the middleweight battle captures that spirit perfectly. Lawler vs. Manhoef is going to end with somebody staring at the ceiling, the owner of a brand-new concussion. The only questions are: Who will it be, and how long will it last?

After the jump: Wes Sims makes it very clear why he’s such an enormous underdog against Bobby Lashley, and Chael Sonnen takes a break from his homophobic Republican heel routine to speak candidly about his upcoming UFC 109 matchup with Nate Marquardt, which will very likely produce the UFC’s next middleweight title challenger.

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Exclusive: Nate Marquardt Is Going to Keep Beating Guys Until They Have to Give Him a Title Shot


(‘I’ve always wanted to do this!’)

by Cage Potato contributor Elias Cepeda

After spending all of 2009 making a strong case for himself as the UFC’s top middleweight contender, Nate Marquardt finds himself facing Chael Sonnen at UFC 109 while Vitor Belfort leapfrogs him for the title shot against Anderson Silva.  In this exclusive interview Marquardt opens up about his dealings with the UFC, his thoughts on fighting Sonnen, and the bout with Dan Henderson that never materialized.

CagePotato.com: In your last fight you took on Demian Maia at UFC 102 and knocked him out in 21 seconds. I imagine you probably couldn’t be happier with that result?

Nate Marquardt: Totally (laughs). There wasn’t much more I could have asked for.

You’ve spoken before about training to do specifically what you ended up doing. Did the fight go the way you thought it would or were you surprised by the quickness?

I don’t think you could ever plan for a fight to end that quickly. When I gameplan I look for specific stuff that’s going to work on the guy that I’m comfortable doing. Other than that you can have a gameplan but it can’t be your only thing. You have to be a smart fighter and when something you weren’t training for happens you have to be able to change your game in the middle of the fight.

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