MMA

On May 1, 2005, Marquardt defeated Izuru Takeuchi, winning the Pancrase middleweight championship for a seventh time. Marquardt earned a decision victory over UFC veteran Ivan Salaverry at UFN 1. Marquardt was set to make his return to the UFC at UFC 58, fighting a mixed martial arts veteran Joe Doerksen where Nate won a unanimous decision over Doerksen. Marquardt then fought Crafton Wallace on the undercard of Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter on October 10, 2006, winning by rear naked choke in the second round. At UFC Fight Night 8, Marquardt notched a dominant three-round decision victory over ADCC champion grappler Dean Lister that saw two judges score the bout 30-25 for Marquardt. Following that victory and a 4-0 debut in the UFC, Marquardt was scheduled to compete for the UFC middleweight championship held by Anderson Silva on July 7, 2007 at UFC 73. Marquardt lost the championship bout by technical knockout due to strikes. At UFC 81 Marquardt defeated Horn via guillotine choke. Marquardt fought Thales Leites at UFC 85. Marquardt controlled Leites for the second and third round of the fight but some illegal hits costs Marquardt valuable points that lost him the decision. Marquardt was next scheduled to face Martin Kampmann. Nate flattened Kampmann in 82 seconds by throwing a head kick and landing a barrage of strikes to take the win by TKO in the first round. Marquardt obtained a second straight win to launch himself back into the title picture at UFC 95, when he defeated well-regarded Brazilian fighter Wilson Gouveia with another impressive barrage of strikes to earn a third round TKO.  Notable wins: Jeremy Horn, Martin Kampmann, and Wilson Gouveia.