Article written by: Adam Buck Clark - Let's Bang Em' MMA
In spite of the upcoming bout between Nate Marquardt and Yushin Okami, I have been thinking of Marquardt's reputation so far in the middleweight division. With 30 wins out of 41 matches in his MMA career, Marquardt has shown the MMA world his knowledge and skill of the art of Mixed Martial Arts . However, something that bothers me is that Marquardt does not efficiently perform at a championship level. Marquardt has battled his way to the middleweight title, as he fought Anderson "The Spider" Silva, only to be defeated due to TKO. A guy that dominates his way to the top, only to be dominated, is something that does not impress me. I understand that in MMA anything is possible, but Marquardt's overall performance as an MMA fighter reminds me of someone with a similar stature; Kenny "KenFlo" Florian.
Inside and outside the Octagon, Florian has been perceived as a dominate figure in MMA. Although, he has dominated his way to the top of the MMA world he was defeated by BJ Penn. During his fight with Penn, Florian was beat with his signature move, the rear naked choke. Similarly, as Marquardt has been known to defeat his appointments with KO's and TKO's Silva turned the tables and defeated Marquardt with a TKO victory. Florian had a second chance to become lightweight champion on August 28, 2010, against Gray Maynard. Unfortunately, Florian lost the fight, and as we all know that was his chance at securing his legacy.
I know this article is suppose to focus solely on Nate Marquardt but I see a resemblance between Marquardt's and Florian's MMA careers. This may sound harsh, and I know he has only made it to the championship bout once in his UFC career, but lets get serious for a second. It is clear that Marquardt is following in Florian's footsteps. He lost his title fight to Silva, and now against a serious opponent,Okami, there is a chance that history can repeat itself. I myself am a big fan of Marquardt, but I have recently had my doubts about whether Marquardt can perform at a championship level. I believe that Marquardt has the ability to defeat Okami, but will defeating Okami make him a possible champion? What will happen when, and if, he reaches the championship fight?
I agree with a lot of this. On the one hand it's quite a high standard to say that just because a fighter lost Anderson Silva that he can't compete at the top levels of competition. C'mon..it's Anderson Silva.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I really hate how the UFC will give over-hyped fighters with a few wins a shot at the title over guys who have fought more consistently against better competition. Did anyone really believe Dan Hardy or James Irvin were seriously title contenders? Yes, anything can happen in a fight, but some guys just arent going to win consistently at that level of competition (or at least not yet).
I think Marquardt will probably fail to beat Silva even if he gets past Okami. I just haven't ever seen him especially impress me during a fight and I don't think he's stacked up a record that's very noteworthy (and he lost to sonnen like two or three fights ago). Definitely a good fighter to keep around, but I just don't see Marquardt going the distance (at least not any legacy securing fashion) when it comes to the title.
p.s. i'd also much rather see an okami vs silva rematch than marquardt vs silva.
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