Rousimar Palhares Talks About Fighting Nate Marquardt At UFC 118, Prepared To Face The Best Fighters In The World

UFC middleweight fighter Rousimar Palhares has won three consecutive fights after losing to Dan Henderson at UFC 88.  Prior to his loss against Henderson, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert was on a 6-fight winning streak with the majority by way of submission.  Palhares is prepared to face the best fighters in the world again, starting with Nate Marquardt at UFC 118 in Boston.

From Rousimar Palhares:

“[Nate Marquardt] is a great fighter, it will be a good test for me. I am working hard to develop and improve my game. My dream fight (is) a title shot some day, and if God helps me become a champion. I know that to reach my dream, I will have to work hard and fight the best fighters in the world. Right now I am feeling totally secure and confident about my skills. Let them come. I want the best opponents I can have. It is time to test myself against them.”

Pictures of UFC Fighter Nate Marquardt and His Newborn Baby Girl

Pics were found via Nate Marquardt’s Twitter account, click here to follow him

Nate Marquardt vs Alessio Sakara Added To UFC 116 In Las Vegas

The UFC confirmed an additional bout headed UFC 116 bound, which includes a middleweight battle between Nate ‘The Great’ Marquardt against Alessio ‘Legionarius’ Sakara.

Marquardt was one fight away from acquiring his second title shot against current 185-pound champion Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva.  Unfortunately for Marquardt, he fell short to Chael Sonnen at UFC 109.  Although Sonnen is now next in line to face Silva at UFC 117, Marquardt will look to quickly jump right back into the race for a chance at the belt.

American Top Team’s Sakara on the other hand has his dreams set as well because a victory over Marquardt will put him at the top of the middleweight division.  The Italian MMA fighter holds three consecutive wins and he’ll sure be looking for his fourth victory on July 3rd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas.

Marquardt Brushes Up On His Wrestling To Prepare For Sonnen, Greg Jackson Shares His Thoughts

Nate ‘The Great’ Marquardt is one fight away from acquiring another shot at the UFC title.  If Marquardt is victorious over his next opponent, Chael Sonnen, he’ll be next to face the winner between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort later this year.  Marquardt admits that he would prefer a rematch fight against Silva, but is willing to accept a title bout against Belfort as well.  Belfort is scheduled to face  ’The Spider’ for the middleweight belt in April as part of the UFC 112 main event in Abu Dhabi.

As of right now Marquardt is focused solely on Sonnen, another huge threat in the 185-pound division.  The 3-time middleweight King of Pancrase champion understands the difficult task ahead of him, but he’s willing to do whatever it takes to add another win to his record and climb right up to the number one contender spot.  In a recent interview with sherdog.com, Marquardt  explains the importance of having a strong wrestling technique against Sonnen.  Marquardt’s long time trainer and mentor also shares his thoughts on this very important bout.

From Nate Marquardt:

“He’s a very good wrestler…I have to make sure my wrestling is where it needs to be. I’ve brushed up on it, fixing any mistakes and making sure my timing and reactions are good. He’s definitely a grinder. I have to use the right strategy and not let him push me around the ring. [In regards to fighting the winner between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort] I definitely would prefer to fight Anderson, because he beat me before…At the same time, if Vitor beats him … I’d be happy with either one of those scenarios. [In regards to a possible rematch against Silva] The main difference is, mentally, I’d be a completely different fighter…The first time we fought, I was kind of stuck in a rut, thinking I couldn’t [afford to] lose. I got to where I didn’t want to overcommit, and it took away a lot of my aggression. Since I’ve gone back to my old style, I’ve been finishing guys…The thing that makes it hard is I don’t feel like I did my best against him…If I had, I think I could have and would have beaten him, even back then. Now that I’ve improved so much, it makes me even more eager to face him again.”

From Marquardt’s MMA trainer, Greg Jackson:

“Chael Sonnen is no joke; he just beat Okami…He’s a great fighter. He’s a great grinder. He gets in there and he’s a workhorse, and he offers us a lot of threats. If we do get past him, then we have a whole new challenge, but that’s what Nate wants to do. I think Nate wants to prove that he’s the best, and I think he’s on the road to doing it…I’m a 100 percent believer in Nate Marquardt…I think he’s just amazing and getting better every fight. The important thing with Nate is to execute smart game plans and be really creative. Nate is such a creative fighter that if he stays within the parameters of the game plan and just lets himself go and be creative and open up and have a lot of fun, I think he can beat anybody.”

Rashad Evans and Nate Marquardt Reveal Their UFC 109 Predictions

Nate Marquardt Wants Title Shot If He Beats Chael Sonnen At UFC 109

Nate ‘The Great’ Marquardt has one set goal in his MMA career and it’s a second shot at the title against current UFC middleweight champion Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva.  Before he even gets the opportunity, he’ll have to get past Chael Sonnen on February 6th at UFC 109.  Marquardt understands that it will not be an easy task to defeat the hard hitting Sonnen, but if he does then he expects the title shot as promised by UFC President Dana White.  Silva too has a heavy burden over his shoulders as he prepares to make a title defense against former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor ‘The Phenom’ Belfort at UFC 112 on April 10th.

From Nate Marquardt:

“From what I understand, if I win this fight, I will get the shot…I think (Belfort’s) a great fighter. I don’t necessarily agree with him getting a shot or whatever, just because he really hasn’t fought at 85…His first fight in the UFC was at 95, but to be honest it doesn’t really matter too much to me because I’ve got a good fight coming up and to me I’m going to have to fight all those guys anyways, so it doesn’t really matter…I wasn’t sure when I heard that statement or read it or whatever, what exactly he meant. I assume he meant if he vacated or whatever and that would be a little disappointing to me…I want a rematch with him and it would mean the world to me to get a rematch with him.”

Nate Marquardt Excited To Fight Chael Sonnen At UFC 109 On February 6

UFC middleweight fighter Nate ‘The Great’ Marquardt has announced via his website that he will be taking on wrestling expert Chael Sonnen on February 6, 2010 in Las Vegas.  A win over Sonnen would easily put Marquardt next in line for a UFC title shot.

Marquardt explains how he was a bit upset with the news at first, especially since Sonnen was a fighter who had already lost to Maia.  Meanwhile, Marquardt knocked out Maia in his last fight within the first 21 seconds.  However, Marquardt doesn’t want to underestimate any fighter in his weight class so he is now both mentally and physically preparing himself for a very tough Sonnen at UFC 109.

From Nat Marquardt:

“We just got back to Denver from Montreal and I heard my fight was announced. I was offered the fight weeks ago but couldn’t say anything until it was announced. I will be fighting Chael Sonnen on February 6 in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay. Chael is a tough wrestler and is coming off a win against Yushin Okami. I thought I would get a title fight or a fight with Henderson, but neither fight was available, so I accepted the fight with Sonnen. Honestly I was upset at first. Why should I be fighting a guy that lost to Demian Maia three fights ago? After I thought about it a while, I changed my mind. Sonnen is a great wrestler with decent striking and I don’t want to wait to fight. Now I am pumped to fight and training has been going great! GSP is in town along with Rashad and all the guys. Let’s do this!”

Nate Marquardt vs Chael Sonnen Added To UFC 110 In Australia

Nate “The Great” Marquardt won’t be sitting on the sidelines waiting for the Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort bout.  Instead, he’ll be staying active by taking on the former WEC fighter Chael Sonnen as part of the UFC 110 event.

Marquardt has won three consecutive fights including wins over the undefeated Jiu-Jitsu fighter Demian Maia.  Sonnen has won two of three bouts since coming to the UFC, winning his last two fights by way of a unanimous decision.

UFC 110 is scheduled to take place on February 21st, 2010 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Vitor Belfort Believes Nate Marquardt Deserves Title Shot Against Anderson Silva

Dana White Confirms Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson vs. Nate Marquardt

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