Nathan Marquardt

MMAstatsbox|name=Nathan Marquardt


nick=The Great
height=height|ft=6|in=1
weight=convert|185|lb|kg st|abbr=on|lk=on
nationality=flagicon|USA American
birthdate=birth date and age|year=1979|month=4|day=20
fightingfrom=Denver, Colorado
hometown=Lander, Wyoming
fightteam=Jackson's Submission Fighting
fightstyle=Gaidojutsu
wins=26
losses=8
draws=2
ko=4
submissions=14
decision=6|

Nathan Joel Marquardt (born April 20 ,1979 in Lander, Wyoming) is an American mixed martial artist. He is a three-time middleweight King of Pancrase Champion, and currently fights at middleweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Background and training

Marquardt began his training in the martial arts as a teenager, studying the disciplines of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, kickboxing, and Kenpo under instructor Alistair McNiven. Additionally, he took lessons in wrestling, and eventually began training under Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor Ricardo Murgel at age 18. [cite web |url= http://jacksons.tv/mma/index.php?blog=15|title= Nathan Marquardt|accessdate=2007-03-08 |format= |work= Jacksons.tv] Active in sports throughout high school, he contends that he did not become involved in the martial arts until he saw footage of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. [cite web |url= http://youtube.com/watch?v=wnnWOfvHGnc|title= Cage Talk - Nathan Marquardt Part 2|accessdate=2007-03-08 |format= |work= YouTube.com] Although he is perhaps best known for his association with Greg Jackson's "Gaidojutsu" mixed martial arts team, Marquardt has also trained with Sanae Kikuta and the "GRABAKA Dojo" in Japan [cite web |url= http://www.highaltitudema.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=4&Itemid=31|title= High Altitude Martial Arts: Instructors|accessdate=2007-03-08 |format= |work= HighAltitudeMA.com] as well as American kickboxer and mixed martial artist Duane "Bang" Ludwig in Colorado. [cite web |url= http://www.onzuka.com/news_2002Aug2.html|title= August News Part 2: Short interview with "Nate the Great" Marquardt|accessdate=2007-03-08 |format= |work= Hawaii Martial Arts News & Rumors]

Marquardt runs an academy, High Altitude Martial Arts, located in Aurora, Colorado.

Career

Marquardt began his professional mixed martial arts career in 1999, amassing victories in various promotions before entering the "Bas Rutten Invitational 4" tournament, which was organized in such a manner that the tournament winner was to be offered a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Despite winning the tournament, Marquardt was offered no such contract. [cite news
last =
first =
url = http://ufcmania.com/2007/01/22/exclusive-interview-with-ufc-middleweight-nathan-marquardt/
date = 2007-01-22
accessdate = 2007-03-23
work = UFCMania.com
title = Exclusive interview with UFC middleweight Nathan Marquardt] Instead, he signed with Japan's Pancrase organization, which had fostered such fighters as Ken Shamrock and Bas Rutten. In his first Pancrase fight, Marquardt lost via submission to Genki Sudo.

Invited back to Pancrase for a middleweight elimination tournament, Marquardt defeated Daiju Takase, Kiuma Kunioku, and Shonie Carter to become the first middleweight King of Pancrase. Marquardt defended this title twice before being defeated by Kunioku in December 2001. A final encounter between the two fighters in December 2002 saw Marquardt defeat Kunioku once again to recapture the King of Pancrase championship, which he held for nearly a year.

Almeida incident

On November 30, 2003, Marquardt was involved in a brief altercation with middleweight opponent Ricardo Almeida in a Pancrase title fight. Marquardt, who was caught in a guillotine choke, tapped out; the referee, however, was unable to immediately separate the fighters, and the choke remained applied around Marquardt's neck. After he was freed, Marquardt threw a strike at Almeida's face, prompting both corners to storm into the ring – including Renzo Gracie, who was cornering Almeida. [cite web |url= http://www.renzogracie.com/html/interviews/ricardo_almeida_kop_dec_2003.aspx|title= Ricardo Almeida Interview|accessdate=2007-02-16 |format= |work= RenzoGracie.com] The confrontation eventually came to an end, and Marquardt approached Almeida after the bout to congratulate him. After Almeida vacated his title in July 2004, Marquardt proceeded to regain the championship in a victory over Kazuo Misaki at "Pancrase: Brave 10".

Transition to the UFC

On May 1, 2005, Marquardt defeated Izuru Takeuchi, winning the Pancrase middleweight championship for a seventh time – the only fighter to ever accomplish such a feat.cite news
last = Sievert
first = Steve
url = http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4545037.html
date = 2007-02-12
accessdate = 2007-02-15
work = Houston Chronicle
title = Marquardt fights outside spotlight] It was then announced that Marquardt would be making his debut with the UFC in August, live on Spike TV, headlining the inaugural "Ultimate Fight Night" card in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Although his debut ended in success – Marquardt earned a decision victory over UFC veteran Ivan Salaverry – post-fight drug testing controversy led to Marquardt's suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Marquardt tested positive for high levels of nandrolone, which led the commission to file for his suspension. Marquardt maintains that he only used over-the-counter supplements in preparation for his fight – a claim which seems to have been affirmed by a follow-up drug test that found Marquardt to be free of illegal substances. Regardless, Marquardt's suspension was lifted in January 2006. [cite news
last =
first =
url = http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=3809
date = 2006-01-06
accessdate = 2007-02-15
work = Sherdog.com
title = Marquardt's Suspension Lifted by NSAC]

With the drug testing controversy resolved, Marquardt was set to make his return to the UFC at "UFC 58", fighting a mixed martial arts veteran in Joe Doerksen. The fight proved to be a successful endeavor for Marquardt, as he won a unanimous decision over Doerksen. In the post-fight interview, Marquardt stated his goals of capturing the UFC middleweight championship, and his intention to fight then-champion Rich Franklin.

Marquardt then fought Crafton Wallace – a replacement for Marquardt's original opponent, Thales Leites – on the undercard of "" on October 10, 2006, winning by rear naked choke in the second round. Due to his commitment to the UFC, Marquardt relinquished his title as the middleweight King of Pancrase that same month. [cite news
last = Breen
first = Jordan
url = http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=5929
date = 2006-10-23
accessdate = 2007-02-15
work = Sherdog.com
title = With Eye on UFC, Marquardt Relinquishes KOP Belt]

At "UFC Fight Night 8", Marquardt notched a dominant three-round decision victory over ADCC champion grappler Dean Lister that saw two judges score the bout 30-25 for Marquardt. Following that victory, Marquardt was scheduled to compete for the UFC middleweight championship held by Anderson Silva on July 7 2007 at "UFC 73". [cite news
last = Pishna
first = Ken
url = http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3641
date = 2007-03-21
accessdate = 2007-03-22
work = MMAWeekly.com
title = Marquardt vs. Silva; Ortiz vs. Evans Signed] Marquardt lost the championship bout by technical knockout due to strikes.

After early speculation that Marquardt's contract with the UFC could expire without renewal [cite news
last = Sievert
first = Steve
url = http://blogs.chron.com/fighting/2007/11/marquardt_plays_the_ufc_waitin.html
date = 2007-11-06
accessdate = 2007-11-15
work = Brawl Sports
title = Marquardt plays the UFC waiting game] , he confirmed that a new agreement had been signed with the organization. Marquardt's next match was to be against Thales Leites at "UFC 81", but Leites withdrew from the bout due to an injured hand. This marked the second time that a bout between Leites and Marquardt had been canceled. On January 9, the UFC announced that veteran Jeremy Horn would replace Leites. [cite news
last = Pishna
first = Ken
url = http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=5427
date = 2007-01-09
accessdate = 2007-01-09
work = MMAWeekly.com
title = HORN STEPS IN TO FACE MARQUARDT AT UFC 81] Marquardt defeated Horn via guillotine choke.

Marquardt fought Thales Leites at "UFC 85"–a fight that had been postponed on two separate occasions since 2006. [cite news
last = Stupp
first = Dan
url = http://mmajunkie.com/news/3917/thales-leites-vs-nate-marquardt-at-ufc-85.mma
date = 2008-03-11
accessdate = 2008-03-13
work = MMAJunkie.com
title = Thales Leites vs. Nate Marquardt Set for UFC 85] Marquardt controlled Leites for the second and third round of the fight but landed an illegal knee strike to the head of Leites in the second round and an alleged elbow to the back of the head in the third. The deducted points proved to be crucial in the judging as Leites was deemed victorious in a controversial split decision. [cite news
last = Martin
first = Damon
url = http://mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=6443
date = 2008-06-07
accessdate = 2008-06-25
work = MMAWeekly.com
title = UFC 85 REVIEW: ALVES STUNS HUGHES; BISPING ROLLS] [cite news
last = Concannon
first = Paul
url = http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=13115
date = 2008-06-08
accessdate = 2008-06-25
work = Sherdog.com
title = Alves Stops Hughes in London]

Personal life

Marquardt has a wife named Tessa and a 7 year old daughter. [cite news
last = Graham
first = Pat
url = http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/03/23/mixed.martial/
date = 2007-03-23
accessdate = 2007-03-23
work = SI.com
title = Hard lessons: Ultimate Fighting star uses peers as punching bags]

Other accomplishments

* 1999 World Vale Tudo Federation Champion
* 1999 I.M.A. Rumble In The Rockies Champion
* 1999 Bas Rutten Invitational 4 Lightweight Champion
* 2000 Ring of Fire Middleweight Champion
* 2002 Pancrase Spirit Tour Champion
* Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ricardo Murgel
* 2nd Degree Black Belt in Pancrase Mixed Martial Arts/Jiu-Jitsu []

Mixed martial arts record

MMArecordbox
wins=26
losses=7
draws=3
ko-wins=4
ko-losses=1
sub-wins=15
sub-losses=2
dec-wins=7
dec-losses=4

References

ee also

*List of Pancrase champions
*List of male mixed martial artists

External links

* [http://www.natemarquardt.com Nate Marquardt official site]
*Sherdog|id=1712|name=Nathan Marquardt
* [http://www.myspace.com/natemarquardt Nate Marquardt official Myspace]
* [http://www.ultimefanatic.com/modules/smartinterview/item.php?itemid=6&lang=english Marquardt interview on UltimeFanatic.com]