Chael Sonnen Upsets Nate Marquardt

Chael Sonnen told anybody who would listen that he was going to beat Nate Marquardt. The problem is that few were listening. Sonnen was a significant underdog, an afterthought in Marquardt’s road to a rematch with Anderson Silva.

But Sonnen did the unthinkable, using his strong wrestling base to control Marquardt on the ground while battering with him elbows and hammer fists. Sonnen earned a 30-27 decision, but was nearly submitted in the third round when Marquardt locked in a tight guillotine choke. Sonnen was able to escape, however, and controlled Marquardt for the remaining minute of the bout to earn the victory.

The victory moves Sonnen to the top of the division, and he could be in line for a title shot with Anderson Silva. Sonnen started trash-talking Silva weeks ago, so the Countdown show and interviews leading into that fight should be interesting. That’s assuming Silva gets past Vitor Belfort, of course.