One of the most experienced men in the middleweight division, Nate Marquard was a respected but unspectacular middleweight prior to making his UFC debut in 2005. At that time, Marquardt had won the Pancrase Middleweight Championship three times, defending it several times amongst his various title reigns, but a lack of consistency had plagued his career.

After joining the UFC, however, Marquardt’s stock as a top-ranked middleweight skyrocketed. He was increasingly able to combine his technical skill with state-of-the-art training methods and a newfound aggressiveness in the cage, and his abilities truly bloomed. Marquardt has defeated Ivan Salaverry, Joe Doerksen, Dean Lister, Jeremy Horn, Martin Kampmann, and Demian Maia during his latest run. Perhaps the most impressive victory of his career came in 2009, when he became the first fighter to defeat Maia when he knocked the Jiu-Jitsu ace out cold just 21 seconds into the first round.

Marquardt lost in his first attempt at the UFC crown via knockout to middleweight champ Anderson Silva, and his quest for a rematch was derailed in an upset loss to the powerful wrestler Chael Sonnen. Marquardt is nevertheless one of the fighters few middleweights look forward to facing. He has standout power, speed, explosiveness and agility. He also has an unusual wealth of experience for his age, and he trains with a top camp in Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting based in Albequerque. Most agree Marquardt remains a serious title contender.

Recently, Marquardt has gone public with tentative plans to test himself with a cut to the welterweight division. Although many think the bulky middleweight would have a difficult time cutting to 170lbs, Marquardt is adamant that he could make the new weight with little difficulty.