Nate ‘The Great’ Marquardt recently talked about his upcoming UFC Fight Night 22 bout against submission specialist Rousimar ‘Toquinho’ Palhares. Marquardt respects Palhares’ BJJ, but his intense training has allowed him to be confident with his submission defense. If anything, Marquardt believes that Palhares should be doing some homework of his own which includes wrestling with heavy takedowns. Marquardt is not looking past Palhares so he’ll be ready for just about anything come September 15th at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.
From Nate Marquardt:
“That’s his style. He likes to work those submissions. But I’m ready to defend those submissions with everything I have. I’m not letting him catch me in anything. I heard he’s working very hard on his wrestling. I’m expecting him to be a great wrestler when it comes to his takedowns. If he shows up with anything less than that it’ll be an easy night. But if he shows up with good takedowns I’ll be able to display that I have good takedown defense. I’ll have him on the bottom if he pulls guard or whatever and be able to work my ground and pound from there. But who knows? He could be a completely different fighter when I fight him… Not looking past Palhares, but winning this fight I’m gonna want a top guy. My goal is to get a title shot. I think I’m gonna have to beat one of those guys [Belfort or Okami] or maybe a Wanderlei Silva to get that shot.”
