Nate Marquardt Gets Challenged by Ben Askren and Scolded by B.J. Penn

There may be life outside of the UFC for Nate Marquardt after all.

Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren recently took to Twitter to call out the former UFC title contender.

"You are a cheater, not once, but frequently. Stop cheating, come to Bellator and I will crush you," Askren posted.

Marquardt was released from the UFC after failing medical requirements for his scheduled UFC on Versus 4 bout against Rick Story. A few days after his release, Marquardt explained how he was undergoing hormone replacement therapy to make up for his low testosterone levels.

There was a tremendous outcry from MMA fans for Marquardt to be reinstated in the UFC, but Askren has always shown strong opposition towards performance enhancing drugs.

"It's pretty obvious. I've been around the block. I travel a lot to gyms. I think cheating with performance enhancing drugs runs rampant in the MMA world, and I'm okay with that. That's their decision," Askren told MMAWeekly Radio.

"I wouldn't do it. I think there are long-term ramifications in your career, and the fact that they're choosing to take the easy way out as opposed to training themselves naturally, that's also going to have an effect on them long-term, that they didn't do it themselves, that they had something helping them."

Askren isn't the only fighter that has spoken up about the Marquardt situation. Former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion B.J. Penn also took to Twitter to voice his opinion about hormone replacement therapy in MMA.

"All this testosterone replacement therapy stuff is total BS. A true martial artist would never consider cheating," Penn posted.

This isn't the first time Marquardt has failed a medical evaluation. Following his UFC debut with Ivan Salaverry in August 2005, Marquardt was suspended for five months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for testing positive for banned substances.

"I think it's pretty clear he failed, not one, but two tests. I think it becomes very, very clear when his coach Trevor Wittman is coming out and saying things that goes against what he's doing. If your coach ain't got your back, who's got your back? I think it's pretty clear to me as many excuses as he makes that he was cheating, and this is not the first time he's got caught," said Askren.

"What I have a real issue with is when someone gets caught, you're supposed to be a grown man. You're supposed to be a man and part of being a man is taking responsibility for your actions. When you get caught and you just constantly lie, and lie, and lie, it's like come on dude, just own up, be a man."

With his UFC dismissal, Marquardt could eventually settle on Bellator as his new home. Askren would love to finally get a crack at one of the best in the world.

As a two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion and a former Olympian, Askren knows that he presents some significant style problems for Marquardt, who seems to struggle against strong wrestlers. If Bellator inks Marquardt to a deal, "Funky" hopes to be his first post-UFC test.

"Bring it. I want to be the best in the world, and the only way to be the best in the world is to fight the people that are the best. Nate Marquardt, come on," stated Askren. "He can't beat wrestlers. He can't beat a good wrestler. So I'll take him down, I'll wear him out, and hopefully for the fans around the world, I will submit him so they don't call me a blanket fighter."