Nate Marquardt vs. Paul Daley: Head-to-Toe Breakdown

With Nate Marquardt finally finding a home with the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA), speculation has already begun over what intriguing fights could be next for the former UFC star.

One name that comes to mind is the hard hitting Paul “Semtex” Daley. 

Daley has been a consensus top 10 welterweight in the world for years now (currently ranked 10th by Sherdog and (ninth by Yahoo! Sports), and despite being a force in Strikeforce’s welterweight division, he also fights for BAMMA.

Another reason that this would be a very interesting fight is that Daley was among the handful of fighters who called Marquardt out for his situation involving testosterone replacement therapy.

Daley agreed with BJ Penn’s assessment that TRT is “bullsh**,” and Marquardt has recently fired back saying that he would like to fight anyone who decided to kick him while he was down.

Seeing two talented fighters go at it usually makes for an entertaining fight in itself, but add in a personal vendetta, and the bar gets raised that much higher.

Let’s take a look at how this very possible fight looks on paper.

Wrestling

While Nate “The Great” is mostly known for his knockout power, he actually has a pretty solid grappling game. 

Nate has shown to have above average takedown ability and top control for someone without any wrestling experience prior to getting involved with MMA.

Meanwhile, wrestling has clearly been Daley’s weakest part of his MMA game.

Daley is a highly respected striker with the power and ability to score a knockout at anytime, but he has been handily controlled in the cage every time he’s faced a high level grappler.

It is fairly obvious who has the advantage here.

Advantage: Marquardt

Jiu Jitsu

Marquardt is actually a second degree black belt in both Brazilian and traditional Jiu Jitsu and has won almost half of his professional fights (15 out of 31) by way of submission.

In 27 professional wins, Daley has only won two fights via a submission, both of which were taps to strikes. 

Daley actually has a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but clearly, he’s a guy who prefers to stand and trade on any given night.

Advantage: Marquardt 

Striking

Marquardt is highly regarded as a kickboxer, but a fairly low percentage of his wins have come by way of knockout (eight out of 31). 

Meanwhile, Daley has notched an astonishing 20 of his 27 victories by way of knockout. 

His Semtex nickname came about from his incredibly explosive and dangerous striking ability, and he proves time and time again the nickname is well deserved.

Both fighters have great chins, with each man only suffering one knockout loss in their careers, but Marquardt would be ill advised to try and match punching power with Paul Daley.

Advantage: Daley

Cardio

While Daley’s wrestling has always been a gaping hole in his game, it can be argued that cardio has been his biggest issue as a fighter.

Daley, like Marquardt would be, is a massive welterweight.  He clearly cuts 20-plus pounds to get down to the 170 pound weight limit. 

This remains a struggle for him though, even eight years into his career.

In his past 11 fights, Daley has missed making weight 170 pounds.

As a matter of fact, Daley would be the reigning BAMMA welterweight champion if he didn’t weight in 0.4 pounds overweight before easily disposing of current champ Yuya Shirai less than two minutes into the first round. 

Daley clearly needs a better nutrition program, so he can consistently make weight and improve his cardio. 

While Marquardt was rumored to have issues making 170, that proved to be false when a training video was released, showing him make 170 on the scales fairly comfortably.

While Marquardt has never been known for his cardio, he has never had an issue with it either.

Advantage: Marquardt

Prediction

Daley’s one dimensional fighting style will not be enough this time around, as Marquardt’s superior grappling game will allow him to control the pace in this one.

Marquardt may get tagged with a sold punch or two, but he will be able to convince the judges with active top control, ground and pound and BJJ transitions. 

This turns out to be a great situation for Marquardt, as he is able to beat a top contender and extract some personal revenge at the same time. 

Winner: Marquardt by unanimous decision.