UFC middleweight Nate Marquardt may say he won’t be fighting with pressure on his shoulders against Yushin Okami at UFC 122, but some may find that hard to believe.  If he wins, he gets a title shot – a rare second title shot.  It’s that simple.  All that is left to do in his career is to take home the UFC middleweight strap, which clarifies just how much is on the line in Germany for Marquardt.  “Nate the Great” shared with Fighters.com that his focus for Okami – and a title shot, will be razor sharp, something that wasn’t the case when he lost to Chael Sonnen at UFC 109. ...

November is a busy month.  We have a big political election this week, something called the World Series - was a big hit - in San Francisco at least, a menu full of pro and college football, and then Thanksgiving to round out the month.  What should not be lost amongst the chop chop of daily life, is a plate full of spectacular MMA this month.  Rampage is back at it, Matt Brown fights for his UFC career survival, and Joe Lauzon may have the toughest opponent of them all this month.  Check out five fights you MUST watch in November. ...

It’s been over three years since Nate Marquardt unsuccessfully challenged Anderson Silva for the ufc Middleweight Championship, and he’s poised to finally earn a rematch with the long-reigning champion if he can win his next fight at UFC 122 in Germany. Standing in his way is Yushin Okami, a fighter who some fans believe is long overdue for a title shot of his own. Heading into this key Middleweight showdown, Nate “The Great” recently told MMA Weekly how he’s approaching such a critical moment in his career. Here are the highlights. ...

Michael Bisping always seems to get himself a big win right when he needs it the most. He rebounded from a loss to Rashad Evans by dropping down to Middleweight and winning three straight fights. He rebounded from the first KO loss of his career by TKO’ing former PRIDE FC star Denis Kang. And he’s now rebounded from a tough loss to Wanderlei Silva with two tough wins over Dan Miller and Yoshihiro Akiyama. So what’s next for the brash British bad-boy? Here are my top 5 opponents for Michael Bisping. ...

Much like the rest of the MMA world, Silva was shocked by the recent allegations that former foe Chael Sonnen, whom Silva had battled against at UFC 117 in what turned out to be a comeback win for "The Spider" when he eventually submitted the part-time real estate agent in the fifth round in their title fight. In what will go down as one of the better fights in 2010, Sonnen put up an almost savage-like beat down on the reigning defending middleweight champion, however the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt battled back from adversity after being taken down and pummeled for four-and-a-half rounds, and submitted his rival with a triangle choke. Why the stoppage was marred in controversy for a short period of time, Sonnen's post-fight drug test will blemish his career for the rest of his life. Following the loss, a spirited one at that, the former Olympic wrestling hopeful, was found to have under the influence of performance enhancing substances due to highly elevated testosterone levels, according to the California State Athletic Commission. ...

Another twist--turns out middleweight contender Vitor Belfort is not injured. In fact, he was pulled from his headlining duties against Yushin Okami and will now be taking on the champ, Anderson Silva in early 2011. The Okami-Belfort bout was to serve as ufc 122's headliner, the organizations second foray into Germany which is taking place on November 13 via-tape delay on Spike TV, however since Belfort had been pulled the bout, most speculated that the Brazilian was injured when former title challenger Nate Marquardt stepped up to the plate to face the Japanese star. ...

You read that right, fans and friends. First seen on MMAWeekly, Vitor Belfort has once again pulled out of an upcoming bout with an injury. This time his opponent was scheduled to be Yushin Okami, in a match that would have determined the next challenger to Anderson Silva’s UFC Middleweight Championship. Belfort has been plagued with injuries for the majority of his latest UFC tenure, and it now looks as if Nate Marquardt will step in on short notice and face Yushin Okami in the main event of UFC 122. ...

The ratings are in for both “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12’s premiere episode and UFC Fight Night 22: “Marquardt vs. Palhares”. TUF 12 episode 1 featured an all-new cast of Lightweight hopefuls fighting their way into the house with Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck playing the role of mentors/coaches. Fight Night 22 featured Nate Marquardt dramatically finishing Rousimar Palhares in a key Middleweight showdown. So were the shows a success? It depends on who you ask. It depends on what your definition of “success” is. It…depends. Here’s the full ratings rundown, courtesy of Sherdog. ...

The dust has barely settled from the UFC’s latest Fight Night outing, but people are already beginning to call the main event showdown between Nate Marquardt and Rousimar Palhares the second coming of “GreaseGate”. For those not abreast of the situation, Marquardt escaped Palhares’ patented heel hook rather easily when Palhares finally got Nate “The Great” to the ground, so easily in fact that Palhares tried to stop the fight due to his allegation that Marquardt had used a greasing agent on his legs. In that split-second of lost focus, Marquardt pounced and secured a dominating win that may go down as the most controversial fight of his career. But both his trainer and Marquardt himself strongly deny  the allegations of greasing, and I have to tell you, they make a very solid argument. ...

As a lead in to the popular UFC reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter”, UFC Fight Night 22: “Marquardt vs. Palhares” certainly served its purpose of giving the fans a great night of live action to compliment the inaugural debut of a new TUF season. In a key Middleweight match-up pitting Nate Marquardt against Rousimar Palhares, Nate “The Great” would win in dominating fashion in a moment of controversy that was quickly cleared up. Here are the official results of Fight Night 22 as well as my thoughts on the card. ...

Former ufc Welterweight Championship contender Dan Hardy was controversial before he posted an internet rant railing against UFC fighters who do nothing but score takedowns and do nothing with them. But the resulting fervor surrounding his comments quickly added to Hardy’s bad-boy image. Nate Marquardt and Shinya Aoki would get in on the action, with Marquardt decrying Hardy while Aoki agreed with him. Well, fans and friends, prepare for Round 2 in the “Wrestling in MMA” debate, since Dan Hardy recently posted another heated column once again attacking wrestlers in the UFC, and he even took some shots at Marquardt and internet journalists. ...

Weigh-ins were held today for the upcoming UFC Fight Night 22 event, which is scheduled to take place August 15 in the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. Featuring a key middleweight showdown in the main event that sees former title contender Nate Marquardt taking on feared submission specialist Rousimar Palhares, Fight Night 22 will serve as the lead-in to the landmark twelfth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, featuring coaches Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck. The weigh-ins were not without their drama, as "Ultimate Fighter" Season 8 winner Efrain Escudero missed weight by four pounds. ...

In the recent fervor regarding ufc fighter Dan Hardy’s rant against wrestlers and Nate Marquardt’s subsequent response, another prominent Mixed Martial Artist has thrown his name into the mix and let his opinion be known on the controversial “wrestling in MMA” debate. One of the biggest draws in Japanese MMA both as a squeaky-clean boy idol and a villainous breaker of arms, current DREAM and WAMMA Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki made his stance public in an interview with MMA Fighting. ...

Two days ago I reported on ufc fighter Dan Hardy’s recent column where he attacked UFC fighters who use their wrestling backgrounds to gain a dominant position on the ground and then proceed to do nothing in order to grind out a judge’s decision. Apparently his words didn’t sit well with Nate Marquardt, who headlines the upcoming UFC Fight Night 22 event against submission specialist Rousimar Palhares. “Nate the Great” spoke at length to MMAWeekly.com regarding the situation. ...

A five-fight veteran of the world’s toughest MMA promotion, UFC fighter Rousimar Palhares will get his second shot at Middleweight greatness on September 15, when he faces Nate Marquardt in the main event of UFC Fight Night 22. Palhares lost a Unanimous Decision to PRIDE FC legend Dan Henderson in 2008 in his first attempt at breaking through to the top of the division, but since then has been on an absolute tear: he’s won three straight fights, two of which coming by way of the heel hook submission that has become his specialty (of his nine submission wins, six have been by heel hook). Palhares most recently caused a not-insignificant amount of controversy when it looked like he held onto the fight-ending heel hook against his last opponent, Tomasz Drwal, for far too long. Yet in a recent interview, Palhares claims that it was all a simple misunderstanding. ...

I’m usually a fan of free MMA regardless of rhyme or reason, but I have to admit, the UFC’s next Fight Night Live special has me more interested than usual. Scheduled for September 15 and emanating from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, Fight Night 22 will be a great lead-in for the upcoming twelfth season of the popular UFC reality television show “The Ultimate Fighter”, which sees UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre coaching a cast of hopefuls opposite his bitter rival and current #1 contender to the belt, Josh Koscheck. Below is the full, officially-announced fight card as well as some of my early predictions. ...

Former UFC lightweight title challenger Diego Sanchez is making changes. After his losses to former champion BJ Penn at lightweight, and then budding welterweight star John Hathaway, Diego will try his hand once again at the 170-pound division at UFC 121 against Paulo Thiago. Sanchez largely made his name after winnings "The Ultimate Fighter" season one as a middleweight, before dropping down to the welterweight division in dominating fashion. After defeating fellow finalist Kenny Florian at the TUF finale, Diego would make a name for himself in victories over Karo Parisyan, Nick Diaz, and Joe Riggs. While Diego can attribute a large amount of his success to his hard work and dedication, but in some respects a little of that success also needs to be addressed to the man, the myth, the legend--Greg Jackson. ...

Former UFC light heavyweight champion and current middleweight contender Vitor Belfort will be returning to action in November, but against who--who knows. The news, which was highlighted previously on Fighters.com , where according to Vitor himself on Twitter, “this year I am not going to fight for the title because the champion (UFC Middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva) is hurt but November we will be in action for sure that is what I can say.” ...

UFC Hall of Famer, and one of the most recognized fighter's in the sport today, Matt Hughes will step into the octagon for the 52nd time, against welterweight contender, Ricardo Almeida. A Renzo Gracie student, Almeida has made a successful transition to the 170 pound division after a well established career as a middleweight, which has seen him garner wins over the likes of Kendall Grove, Kazuo Misako, and perennial contender Nate Marquardt. Matt Hughes, has had a long and storied career in the UFC. After making his debut nearly 10 years ago, a 20 second submission loss to nemesis Dennis Hallman, Hughes would then go on to capture the welterweight title with a knockout slam over then champion Carlos Newton, and would then go on to set the precedent for 5 consecutive defenses--the most ever cemented in the welterweight division. ...

UFC Fight Night 22, which will air live in SpikeTV on September 25th, and the Pay-Per-View event UFC 118, held on August 28, will experience a bit of a shake up. Middleweight contender Alan Belcher reported via Twitter, that a detached retina will prevent him from competing opposite of Demian Maia, a match that "The Talent" had been campaigning for since his victory over former title challenger Patrick Cote. ...

This Saturday Fighters.com sixth-ranked middleweight Demian Maia (11-1) will step inside the Octagon to do battle against Fighters.com and UFC middleweight champion "The Spider" Anderson Silva (25-4). This will not be the walk in the park for Silva most seem to believe. ...

The card for UFC 112 has been bit by the injury bug this week. It was announced by the UFC that Fighters.com eighth-ranked "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort ( 18-8) had to pull out of his title fight with UFC middleweight champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4)in Abu Dhabi. ...

Fighters.com seventh-ranked middleweight Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) has announced that he is running for Oregon State Representative. I love the fact that he is looking to venture into politics. This could lead to some positive press for the sport of mixed martial arts, if only he was not hiding the fact that he fights. ...

UFC 109 took place last night and was an event I did a few articles on here. I wanted to take the time to eat some crow and give my thoughts on the event. First let me start by saying I was 100% wrong about Chael Sonnen (24-20-1). He dominated Fighters.com fourth-ranked “Great” Nate Marquardt (29-9-2). This is the first time we saw Nate unable to do anything for 14 minutes. He looked a bit lost off his back and other than two guillotine attempts he had nothing to offer in the way of submission offense. Congratulations to Chael for proving me wrong. ...

I thought I would sit down and make my picks for UFC 109 today. We usually make picks on MMA Gospel Radio and we made a few with The Fight Pastor however I have had more time to think and these are my official picks, enjoy. ...

The winner of the co-main event fight that pits "Great" Nate Marquardt (29-8-2) against Chael Sonnen (23-20-1) at UFC 109 will get a title shot according to UFC President Dana White. While I believe Nate deserves a shot at the title I shiver at the thought of Sonnen getting a title shot. ...

As of late we have seen some fighters take the role of the heel by choice while some seem to have been put in that role due to finicky fans. There is one fighter that stands out as more of a hero than a heel and I salute him for his efforts. That fighter is Nate Marquardt. Fighters.com fourth-ranked middleweight "Great" Nate Marquardt (29-8-2) is a man many should take notice of as he is not only a great fighter but an amazing human being. Nate was just recently named the Sharon Antcliff Foundation's "True Warrior" for 2009. ...

"I think [Vitor Belfort] is a great fighter," Fighters.com's fourth-ranked middleweight “Great” Nate Marquardt (29-8-2) told MMA Weekly Radio recently.  "I don’t necessarily agree with him getting a shot or whatever, just because he really hasn’t fought at 85," he added. ...

Strikeforce middleweight "Jacare" Ronaldo Souza (9-2) climbed a rung to to number eight in December with a first-round submission of “The Law” Matt Lindland (21-7) at Evolution in San Jose December 19. ...

Fighters.com’s second-ranked middleweight Jake Shields (23-4-1) cemented his status as top contender to Fighters.com and UFC Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva's (25-4) titles and picked up the Strikeforce strap himself in a five-round unanimous decision over former top ten and nails-tough “Mayhem” Jason Miller (22-7) at Strikeforce in Chicago November 7. ...