Nate Marquardt finally retired from MMA two days ago(28th December, 2017).
I say "finally" with all due respect. With a career that goes back all the way to 1999, the man has been involved in over 50 MMA fights and in the process has managed to capture glory and gold in multiple organizations throughout the years.
He's an absolute legend.
When I think of Nate Marquardt, I think of his extremely well rounded MMA game, his incredible one punch knockout power, great finishing instincts, but most importantly -his ability to string combos like a Tekken character.
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The only thing that's missing are the characters being juggled up into the sky
The problem here, however, is that newer fans of the sport will probably only remember Marquardt for his last 11 fights in which he lost 8 of them. And who can blame them? He has been fighting for almost two decades with his last few fights towards the end of his prime. It also doesn't help that despite having such an illustrious career, was never able to win a UFC belt.
It's a brutal sport in many ways. Not every fighter will be able to solidify their spot in MMA history like BJ Penn and Randy Couture who not only won their own respective UFC belts but also managed to win belts in two weight divisions. But Nate was a truly great fighter who seemed to just fall short of getting that belt.
And that's why I'd like to acknowledge the accomplishments and efforts of a great veteran, that helped paved the way for MMA when the sport was still struggling and growing, by remembering his best performances in the cage.
So here are my favourite Nate Marquardt moments!
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Nate hitting Kampmann from all angles with everything but the kitchen sink!
Coming into this fight, Kampmann was considered a dangerous match-up for anyone with 4 straight wins in the UFC and 3 of them by way of submission. That certainly didn't intimidate Marquardt as he made quick work of his opponent starting with an explosive headkick followed by a barrage of punches attacking the head and body that eventually led to the first round TKO!
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Nate with the flying knee into the triple highkick followed by the spinning back fist that ends with the finishing knee
Another win for Nate against a good fighter in Gouveia. Gouveia, at this point in his career, had amassed a good number of wins via finish and was looking to make a contender of himself by finishing Marquardt. Unfortunately for him, he would end up on the receiving end of one of MMA's most brutal, yet creative fight finishing combos, that left the referee no choice but to intervene and stop the fight.
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You can even see Maia's floating in the air for just a second
Oddly enough, it seemed like the UFC loved sending their potential title contenders to Marquardt as they once again matched him up against an extremely dangerous fighter. The man that ex-UFC heavyweight, Brendan Schaub, refers to as the "Human Backpack", Demian Maia.
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Somebody forgot to turn off the tap again!
Demian Maia is a master at Brazilian jiu-jitsu. If he can't finish you, he will hold you down and beat you up til the fight is over. Before the Marquardt fight, he had finished almost all of his opponents (including the talented wrestler, Chael Sonnen) and was undefeated as an MMA fighter due to his overwhelming jiu-jitsu. Marquardt, however, seemed to have a really good gameplan for the fight - Knock him out with one punch.
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They say power is the last thing to go
Although on the downside of his career, Marquardt proved that night that he wasn't quite done with the sport when he took on another UFC veteran in C.B Dollaway. Going into the second round, Marquardt seemed to be losing the fight. That was until his back was against the wall(literally)and he conjured up the Marquardt of old and landed a big punch to put out his opponent.
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A combo that still circulates around in Reddit after all these years
Last but definitely not least.
This was probably the best version Nate Marquardt in my opinion.
Granted, Woodley has come a long way since that fight and is(whether you like it or not) the current undisputed welterweight champion of the UFC, but Nate's performance that night was nothing short of spectacular.
Woodley an undefeated welterweight prospect at the time and had already defeated top fighters such as Tarec Saffiedene, Jordan Mein, and Paul Daley. Marquardt on the other hand, was released by the UFC and was making his welterweight debut. Both fighters were competing for the vacant Strikeforce belt.
The fight ended up being an instant classic where both men were tested in every aspect of MMA and were able to showcase what high level MMA looked like. It was the finish of the fight, however, that would remain etched in memories of fans. Marquardt pulled off what most fans til this day still consider to be the most brutal fight ending combination that shut Woodley's lights off.
A highlight I saw on youtube to summarize a great fight career.
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A true fighter and warrior! And he did it without the trash talking!
Thank you for the fights, Nate!
All the best to you in your next path!
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