Nate Marquardt

From Sportsnet.ca:

Marquardt is on a three-fight win streak, most recently knocking out Demian Maia in 21 seconds at UFC 102. Sonnen has won his last two, scoring unanimous decisions over highly-regarded middleweights Dan Miller and Yushin Okami. It's an interesting matchup that raises some important questions: First off, does this mean that Dan Henderson has officially left the UFC? Last week, Dana White said he was certain that Henderson had been signed by Strikeforce, though his manager denied it. And hey, would Chael Sonnen get the next shot at Anderson Silva (after Vitor Belfort gets his) if he manages to pull off an upset against Marquardt? Good Lord. Thanks a lot, Hendo.

The current lineup for UFC 110 (February 21st; Sydney, Australia) is after the jump...

(Props: Genghis Con on Vimeo)

The latest film from MMA auteur Genghis Con focuses on two of the world's most exciting fighters — Nate Marquardt and Gegard Mousasi — taking us through their early careers, their high-profile losses, and their current paths of success. As usual, the editing and music are pitch perfect, so give it a look if you have 20 minutes free. Otherwise, you can just check out the eight-second head-kick KO after the jump.

(If Dan had only faked an injury, it would have been a totally different story.)

After Nate Marquardt's brutal knockout of Demian Maia at UFC 102, Anderson Silva was faced with the possibility of having to rematch both Marquardt and Dan Henderson in title defenses — not exactly the fresh challenges that Silva wanted to focus on during the remaining fights of his career. Silva's manager Ed Soares suggested that Marquardt and Henderson fight each other to establish a true #1 middleweight contender, and Dan Henderson suggested that Ed Soares get stuffed. Well, the Spider has found a solution to the middleweight contender problem, as he's decided to undergo elbow surgery and will sit out the rest of the year.

So, unless Henderson wants to accumulate some nice ring-rust — and wait until the spring to get paid again — he'll probably have to take the fight against Marquardt. (See? Just because Ed and Anderson speak that bizarre foreign language, it doesn't mean they're not clever.) If you're Dana White, your first reaction to this elbow-surgery news is probably "Silva, you cocksucker." Your second reaction is to realize that UFC 105 still lacks a main event, and Henderson vs. Marquardt is probably as good a matchup as you're going to get at this point.

(Demian Maia won't be going for his second-straight 87kg tournament sweep at this year's ADCCs. Photo courtesy of GracieMag.)

On Monday, we oohed and aahed over the lineup for the 2009 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championships, which, according to its official website, was slated to feature a horde of MMA stars. (Urijah Faber is now listed in the under 65.9kg category, by the way.) Well, it's time to debunk some rumors. First off, Demian Maia:

Then, more bubble-bursting from a couple of our twitter-buddies...

(Rising and falling: Nate Marquardt and Randy Couture. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Following UFC 102, we've updated the middleweight, light-heavyweight, and heavyweight pages in our Power Rankings section. Some notable changes:

- Nate Marquardt moves up to #3 in the 185-pound rankings after his knockout of Demian Maia (who drops to #9). Gegard Mousasi leaves the middleweight list (he's here now) and Vitor Belfort sneaks in at #10 to fill the gap.

- Thiago Silva replaces Renato Sobral as the #10-ranked light-heavyweight following his KO of Keith "Sardine" Jardine.

- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira moves to #3 on the heavyweight list, while Randy Couture sinks to #10. That's what happens when you go two years without winning a fight.

Check 'em out and let us know how you feel.
(BG)