UFC's Dana White Rightfully Willing to Give Marquardt, Johnson Second Chances

Although the promotion has a very stringent policy of cutting losing fighters, the UFC is also a land of second or even third chances for many former Octagon competitors. It’s very rare that a UFC cast-off is outright banned from ever returning to the UFC. Anybody and everybody who’s good enough can usually expect to be welcomed back eventually.

In the case of two popular former UFC fighters, Nate Marquardt and Anthony Johnson, UFC President Dana White recently said that he remains open to the possibility of both fighters one day returning to the Octagon. And whether you love him or hate him, you have to respect Dana White’s ability to give second chances and understand that the past is the past.

Courtesy of MMA Fighting, the controversial head honcho had this to say about the recently-released Anthony Johnson: “He needs to go fight somewhere else… He needs to prove to me that he can be a professional, show up on weight and do the things he needs to do. If he does, we can talk.”

In regards to Nate Marquardt, White had this to say: “I like Nate very much. We'll see what happens.”

For those coming into the story a bit late, both Anthony Johnson and Nate Marquardt were released from their contracts primarily due to their actions outside of the cage. A former UFC Middleweight Championship challenger, Nate Marquardt was fired from the UFC after failing a pre-fight medical in his first attempt to fight as a Welterweight inside of the UFC. Once thought of as one of the best Welterweight prospects in the UFC, Anthony Johnson was recently let go after losing to Vitor Belfort in a match that saw Johnson weigh in at about 11 pounds over the Middleweight weight limit.

Like Dana White, I too like Nate Marquardt. Marquardt was one of my “dark horse favorites” and I think it’s sad that Marquardt has been unable to find work outside of the UFC despite being consistently ranked as one of the UFC’s top Middleweights for quite some time.

I really don’t think Nate Marquardt should be condemned for his actions that resulted in his firing from the UFC. When Marquardt famously went onto Ariel Helwani’s “MMA Hour” program and broke down in tears while explaining the situation that resulted in him not being cleared to fight, I saw a man that genuinely regretted what had happened. I simply do not think that Nate Marquardt is a bad person, and I also think that he’s a terrific fighter. I think I’d really enjoy seeing Nate Marquardt back in the UFC.

When it comes to Anthony Johnson I think Johnson made a mistake and I really don’t like how he seems hesitant to own up to it, but I also think that there are far worse mistakes to be made in MMA than simply missing weight. It’s completely unprofessional and you definitely deserve to be punished, though. And yet, while I fully agree with Johnson getting the axe, I’d be more than happy to see him back in the UFC as long as he gets his weight under control. If that means fighting as a Light Heavyweight or even a Heavyweight, I’d be open to that. I still believe that a healthy, happy, focused Anthony Johnson is a very dangerous, very entertaining man. Hopefully that Anthony Johnson returns to the Octagon one day.

So, at the end of the day and despite their flaws, I do think I’d like to see both Anthony Johnson and Nate Marquardt back in the Octagon.

Oliver Saenz, also known as PdW2kX, is a freelance journalist, opinion columnist, hardcore MMA fan and lifelong video game nerd. For more news, views, previews and reviews on all things Mixed Martial Arts as well as video games, be sure to visit FightGamesBlog.net.