Was Nate Marquardt an elite WW-MW?

Had a bit of hype for him coming into the UFC, Pancrase champ, a few good wins, the hiting Almeida after the bell + Renzo stomping at him after were probably what he was best known for. He also had competed at ADCC and showed some pretty competent grappling. His debut vs Salaverry was a hell of a stinker, and his road to his title shot against Anderson was similarly underwhelming. Still at the time many said he would be the man to beat Anderson Silva, with Anderson's losses to Takase and Chonan still fresh in people's minds many thought Marquardt would grapplefuck Anderson especially after Lutter mounted Andy in the previous fight. Anderson took him to school and after that Nate came out guns a blazin for the rest of his career.

His fight with Leites he got deducted i think two points for fouls, and gave up some bad positions but man I remember thinking at the end of that fight that Marquardt sure did beat the shit out of him even though he lost. Got held down by good wrestlers in Okami and Chael and I think he pissed hot a couple of times along the line and was right on TRT as soon as it was a thing. When he seemed unable to keep the top wrestlers at 185 off of him he dropped to 170 and looked to be making a good career resurgence when he beat Twood but it looked like his best days were behind him after that.

When TRT went away it seemed pretty clear he was never going to be good again. Last few years he's been pretty hard to watch, should have definitely retired early but man in his prime he was a good well rounded fighter and gave some of the most violent performances in UFC history, at his peak he was a top 5 guy.

WAR MARQUARDT
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The finish over Tree Stump Paul Harris was fucking beautiful.


Palhares was trying to call a timeout or some shit and Nate was not having it and just smashed the shit out of his stupid half retarded cheating late submission cranking face.


Easily one of the most satisfying KOs of all time if you watched the sport closely then.
 
More skilled version of DDP.
Possibly true for striking. However, DDP is better and more dangerous everywhere when it comes to grappling: TDs, submissions and GnP. It's the awkward striking plus potential danger of a KO on the feet or being taken down that makes DDP such a tough puzzle.
 
Underrated for sure.

Great shot selection.

Just another victim of the trt ban.

When trt was no more. He went downhill like a lot of gays. I mean guys.
 
He was starting to fade by then, at least as MW. But like I said, if Silva hadn't shown up, I think he and Rich would've battled it out (maybe each one beating each other once) until Sonnen and a few others moved up the ranks.
Sonnen pinned Nate down for 3 rounds. Maia subned Sonnen easy. Nate knocked out Maia. So it's bjj beat wrestling, striking + bj beat bj and wrestling beat striking + bj that isn't top elite bj. In that case. Nate can't be subbed that easy and got the striking to KO Maia before he can sub him. But Chael doesn't have the KO abilities to last vs Maia, if he wrestles him he is subbed. Nate isn't a bjj wizzard like Maia and got pinned all fight.
 
I always loved his fight with Chael. He got grapple fucked but did a lot of damage in the process.
 
He was really dominant in Pancrase and by default became one of the guys you wondered how they'd do if they got into the UFC, which he did and ended up doing very well
 
than nate marquardt?

<WhatIsThis>
Yes. Not a knock on Nate, but he wasn't as dangerous on the ground as DDP. And I don't see him taking down someone like Strickland like DDP did several times in their first fight.
 
Yes. Not a knock on Nate, but he wasn't as dangerous on the ground as DDP. And I don't see him taking down someone like Strickland like DDP did several times in their first fight.
he made dean lister and palhares completely useless on the ground. they couldn't do anything to him off their back. ddp has not faced anyone of their caliber in the grappling department, let alone beat them there.
 
Nice HL vid. He smashed out so many fools I liked to root against.
 
he made dean lister and palhares completely useless on the ground. they couldn't do anything to him off their back. ddp has not faced anyone of their caliber in the grappling department, let alone beat them there.
Didn't spend much time on the ground. Nate slipped out of Palhares' leg lock suspiciously easy. Palhares accused him of greasing. Nate said he just worked out before the fight and came in sweaty. Who knows. Palhares then looked at the ref expecting him to do something, and Nate started punching him in the face.

But my comment about DDP was more about offensive grappling. He's more dangerous than Nate when it comes to taking down and submitting or GnP'ing opponents. Izzy had fought a few good grapplers and no one (including HW champ Jan) had done that to him before. Again, not a knock on Nate. And I agree Nate had good submission defense. If DDP can avoid getting submitted by Khamzat, that will be just as impressive as going to the ground with Lister and Palhares and not getting finshed.
 
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He was really dominant in Pancrase and by default became one of the guys you wondered how they'd do if they got into the UFC, which he did and ended up doing very well
He did well in Pancrase and other orgs for 6 years before he came to the UFC and beat a few big names. Also, he didn't get KO'd until his 34th fight vs. Anderson Silva. He later won the Strikeforce belt by KO'ing Woodley. All of that adds to his legacy as he did a lot inside and outside the UFC.
 
Freaking Romero was around. Whittaker as well iirc.
Yep. Whittaker, Romero, Jacare, Mousasi... And I'd give several others a good shot of beating Bisping. Maybe Rockhold if they had an immediate rematch. He destroyed Bisping in their first fight. Maybe Weidman before he declined too much. Bisping lost to Tim Kennedy, so he could be outgrappled. Machida might be a toss-up. Prime Lyoto definitely beats him.
 
Yep. Whittaker, Romero, Jacare, Mousasi... And I'd give several others a good shot of beating Bisping. Maybe Rockhold if they had an immediate rematch. He destroyed Bisping in their first fight. Maybe Weidman before he declined too much. Bisping lost to Tim Kennedy, so he could be outgrappled. Machida might be a toss-up. Prime Lyoto definitely beats him.
Yeah so MW was pretty solid at that time. I remember something wasn’t right. I just don’t remember how the hell Bisping got a ts and how the hell did he end up defending his title against Henderson.
 
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