Nate Marquardt and Rousimar Palhares are in the process of finalizing an agreement to face each other at a UFC event in August. Although a date hasn’t been set, the fight will take place either on August 7 in Oakland or on August 28 in Boston.
Marquardt was originally slated to meet Alessio Sakara at UFC 116 in July, but Sakara pulled out of the fight due to the death of his father.
Marquardt (29-9-2) was on course for a second meeting with middleweight champion Anderson Silva until he lost his last fight against Chael Sonnen in February via unanimous decision. He is 8-3 in his UFC career with wins over Demian Maia, Wilson Gouveia, and Martin Kampmann.
Palhares (11-2) is on a three-fight win streak, and he has won four of his five fights since joining the UFC in 2008. His only defeat was a unanimous decision loss at the hands of Dan Henderson.
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has won three of his four matches via submission, including his last two coming from a heel hook. Palhares dispatched of Tomasz Drwal in only 45 seconds in March, but he was suspended after the fight by the New Jersey Athletic Commission for not releasing the hold immediately when the referee stopped the fight.
Regardless of which fight card the bout takes place on, expect Marquardt and Palhares to be on the main card of the event. The two fighters are two of the top competitors in the middleweight division, and a future title shot could go to the winner of the match.
