Chael Sonnen entered his bout with Nate Marquardt at UFC 109 a heavy underdog. He left the octagon with an improbable unanimous decision victory after three very dominant rounds. Sonnen managed to score takedowns seemingly at will throughout the entire fight, leaving Marquardt baffled and on his back for almost every minute.
However, Marquardt managed to do the most visible damage early with an elbow from the bottom that sliced Sonnen’s forehead wide open. Blood began to pour down Sonnen’s face, but he managed to maintain his composure and remain in the dominant position.
After fourteen minutes of domination, aside from a few submission attempts that Marquardt failed to lock down, Sonnen found himself in somewhat of a sticky situation. Marquardt reverse the positions and managed to end up on top of Sonnen for the final minute of the fight. But Sonnen survived and the two went to the judges scorecards.
Each judge scored the bout in favor of Sonnen, who gained a title shot with the victory. The way he dominated Marquardt, that’s really no surprise.
