To steal a phrase from the legendary Mauro Ranallo, this is the proverbial fight of Batman vs. the Joker, in the sense that Nate Marquardt is a total badass and I dislike (kinda hate) Chael Sonnen (as a fighter, of course).
But hate is such a strong word, Ryan!
Yes it is…but so is love (oooh, yeah, marinate on that one for a second).
Nate Marquardt is someone that we refer to in the business as a PHENOM. He is the person with the best chance to dethrone the middleweight king, Anderson Silva. If he’s not punishing you with his brutal kickboxing, he has no problem taking you down and submitting you with his fantastic jiu jitsu. In essence, he is everything I aspire to be…and a little bit more. He’s gone through a who’s who list of challengers, beating up Martin Kampmann, Demian Maia, Jeremy Horn, Wilson Gouveia, and Dean Lister. And where does that road lead Nate? Directly to the one man standing in his way of another middleweight title shot, Chael Sonnen.
The last time we saw Chael Sonnen, he was facing off against Yushin Okami in the glitz and glamour of the Staples Center in Los Angeles. He did enough to win, but in no way did he impress anyone that night. It’s a shame, but ever since Chael claimed to have not tapped against Paulo Filho in the WEC (channeling Top Gun), he’s lost that lovin’ feeling. Fans can handle someone being upset about a loss. What they can’t handle is you lying, crying, and whining when it’s obvious to the entire living, breathing world that you tapped. We fans are vengeful creatures. It’s why we boo Santa Claus in Philadelphia. It’s why we cheer when Michael Irvin gets hurt…in Philadelphia. Wow, now that I think about it, Philly fans are on a whole different level. Good thing this fight is in Vegas, Chael might not make it out of the arena alive. But I digress…
Can Chael beat Nate? Absolutely. In this fight game, I’ve learned that anything can happen to anyone on any given night. Robbie Lawler can get absolutely demolished for an entire round and then knock Melvin Manhoef the F out. Kimbo Slice and Houston Alexander can be matched up against each other and NOT throw a punch for nearly a round. So, its very possible we could see a three round snoozefest, with Sonnen utilizing his wrestling, and clinching his way to a victory, a la Randy Couture’s Wall and Stall versus Brandon Vera.
However, with the tools that Nate possesses, coupled with his relentless aggression, I don’t see anything that Chael can do that will prevent us from seeing Marquardt vs. Silva 2.
Ryan Loco is guest host of TapouT Radio, co-host of The Ground and Pound Podcast, and host of The Loco Life, which can be viewed right here on Heavy starting next week.