UFC 128 Results: 5 Fights Nate Marquardt Should Take Next
After defeating late replacement Dan Miller this past weekend, Nate "The Great" Marquardt once again finds himself a fight or two away from a title shot.
In his past five fights, he has gone 3-2. The two losses were fights to determine the number one contender. His other two victories were against Demian Maia and Rousimar Palhares.
5: Vitor Belfort (19-9)
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Despite being knocked out by Anderson Silva in their fight at UFC 126, Belfort still remains a top-10 middleweight in the UFC and is capable of beating the very best.
This is a good chance for Marquardt to showcase his stand-up and his overall mixed martial arts game. Belfort's fast hands and knockout power are a viable threat to the 31-year-old, and it's going to take a smart game plan to beat the Brazilian.
With Greg Jackson and company, it will be interesting to see if Marquardt can follow the game plan that is set out in front of him.
4: Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1)
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Silva hasn't fought since February of 2010, and he is going to need a big fight to help him reclaim his position as one of the top UFC middleweights.
Silva is 2-5 in his last seven fights, but they have all been against the very best. His win over Michael Bisping was a solid performance that earned him a unanimous decision victory.
The reasons this fight makes sense is because it would probably be the most exciting fight Marquardt could have in the division before he meets Anderson Silva for a rematch. Silva turned down a fight with Brian Stann, but this should be one he would accept.
3: Mark Munoz (10-2)
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If Munoz is able to make it past Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Demian Maia at UFC 131, he will be in line for a title shot later this year or early 2011. A fight with Marquardt could be the perfect opponent in determining the next best contender.
Munoz' wrestling is something Marquardt would have trouble dealing with. Just look at his fights with Chael Sonnen and Yushin Okami. If he is able to make it past the Filipino fighter, it would be an eye-opener as to how his game has improved since his last defeat.
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2: Alan Belcher (16-6)
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While Belcher hasn't really been in title contention for his entire UFC career, this could be the fight that puts him there. He is 3-1 in his past four fights and 7-4 in the UFC.
He recently defeated Patrick Cote at UFC 113, which earned him a bonus, his fourth in a row.
This would be a good fight to measure Marquardt's stand-up skills because he hasn't faced someone like Belcher, who has excellent kickboxing, in quite some time. His last five fights have been against wrestlers or submission grapplers.
1: Michael Bisping (21-3)
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"I would just love to fight that guy. Just to punch him in his mouth, shut him up, that'd be nice," Marquardt on Bisping at UFC 128 workouts.
"He's a total punk, just no respect. I don't like Bisping."
Not only is this a good matchup style-wise, it's also a good fight to determine the next title challenger in the middleweight division.
Bisping is currently on a three-fight win streak with victories against Dan Miller, Yoshihiro Akiyama and Jorge Rivera.
Three fighters have already called out Bisping after his post-fight actions, including Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort and Marquardt. His next opponent will most likely be one of these three.
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