It was only inevitable that Nate Marquardt would return to a Zuffa property. Lifelong bans in the UFC usually aren’t that and Marquardt is too skilled to remain on the fringes for too long. Especially in light of the “Nick Diaz experience” Dana White and company have gone through in the past year, perhaps a change of heart has slowly crept up to Dana White for a fighter nearly universally liked by his fellow employees. Marquardt was also too good a talent to not have under the UFC/Strikeforce umbrella; if it was to be the proving ground for the best fighters in the world then Nate “The Great” needed to be somewhere in that arrangement.
Thus his signing to Strikeforce is really a way in to prove that he can adhere to athletic commission requirements in regards to his TRT without costing Zuffa significant sums of cash. That makes sense. Marquardt was the premier fighter in the world regardless of weight class not under the Zuffa or Bellator banners. His signing makes sense; if he can be a good citizen and “play the game” as Dana White would say a proper UFC return is certainly in the cards. He’s too good not to be. But Strikeforce is making a huge mistake by having Marquardt at welterweight.
Formerly a top five middleweight before his welterweight debut forced a wild 48 hours where he was taken out of a UFC on Versus main event and fired from the organization, Marquardt is set to make his debut at that weight class against Strikeforce stalwart Tyron Woodley. And while that fight could potentially be a title eliminator, or even a title fight proper to crown a new king of the division after Nick Diaz vacated the title, Strikeforce is doing Marquardt a huge disservice by having him debut in a new weight class against a tough opponent. Nate Marquardt ought to be fighting in the middleweight division, if only because that division needs someone like him in it.
The one notable reason that it could be good to have the former middleweight title contender fight as a welterweight is that immediately gives the division that much more credibility. Marquardt’s credentials are top notch and bring a level of talent to a division that’s easily seen as second rate to the nest of top notch fighters in the UFC’s employ. Three of his last four losses have been to Chael Sonnen, Yushin Okami and Anderson Silva, however, and as a middleweight he’s still considered amongst the Top 10 in that division by many people in spite of his inactivity over the past year.
If anything he’s shown that he’s an elite level gatekeeper at worst in the division; if you can beat Nate you deserve to fight Anderson Silva. He’s always on that cusp of a title shot but has lost twice (Sonnen, Okami) in situations where he was potentially one win away from another crack at Silva. As a middleweight he has a great record and anyone who fancies themselves a contender in the division ought to face him to see if they have what it takes to be at the top of the division. In the worst case scenario Marquardt stepping in on short notice to face Anderson Silva again wouldn’t have been all that inconceivable a year ago. He’s still a potential contender with a win or two in the division and in the UFC fights against someone like Michael Bisping or Chris Weidman still make sense. As a middleweight he’s an intriguing matchup.
This is exactly what Luke Rockhold need right now.
Rockhold is a bit of an enigma in the division in that he’s shown he can beat the best Strikeforce has but needs a true challenge. If Rockhold is a top five or top ten middleweight, as many people argue, then Marquardt is the absolute perfect fight for him. It’s a fight with much more significant meaning than one with Woodley. Marquardt as a welterweight helps to boost the fortunes of an ailing division, nothing more. It comes down to what he’d be in either division.
Marquardt as a middleweight would give the division an entirely new foil and measuring stick.
Marquardt as a welterweight is still an unproven commodity wading into a division that doesn’t stack up to the UFC.
In either division he’s going to be amongst the best, if only by default, based on what he’s accomplished. Marquardt has been in the cage with Silva and the best the middleweight division has to offer and is still in his prime as a fighter. As a middleweight, though, we’ll find out more about Strikeforce’s talent level than he could ever prove as a welterweight.
