Nate Marquardt's post-UFC 122 "choker face".

UFC middleweight Nate Marquardt sent a statement to Fighters Only Magazine Tuesday that addresses UFC President Dana White’s post-UFC 122 comments about him in which he referred to Marquardt as a “choker”:

“After the fight and in recent days, Dana White has publicly criticized me for being a “choker” and not being aggressive enough. While Dana’s comments were difficult to hear, I firmly believe that I am one of the best fighters in the world and will one day be the UFC middleweight champion.

“However in hindsight Dana is right – in order to live up to my full potential and realize my championship dreams I need to be more aggressive and showcase my inherent killer instinct. I need to stalk my opponents, impose my will and finish fights on a consistent basis.”

Marquardt then goes on to say that if Rousimar Palhares wants a rematch with him, he will have to earn it, just like he has to earn another title shot.

Marquardt then lays out the game plan that he believes will get him back in number one contender status:

“In order to re-establish myself as the number one contender, my next opponent needs to be an elite fighter who will stand and bang with me in the center of the Octagon until one of us is knocked out. The fight that makes the most sense to me is Wanderlei Silva. I have a ton of respect for Wanderlei and have wanted this fight for years, the fans have wanted this fight, they deserve to see two of the best fighters in the world in an all out war.”

“Wanderlei is an amazing fighter who is very aggressive, I will pursue him with unwavering tenacity, then I will knock him out! I promise the UFC, Dana, my fans, my team, my coaches and most importantly myself that never again will there be a question about my cage aggression.”

While you have to admire Marquardt’s ability to take an honest look at himself, him calling out Wanderlei Silva is a bit perplexing. Yes, it could be an exciting fight and he could very well knock Wanderlei out, but knocking out a fighter who is in no one’s top-10 list does not seem to equal a bee-line to title contention.

You can read Marquardt’s entire statement at FightersOnlyMagazine.co.uk.

3 thoughts on “Nate Marquardt agrees with Dana White that he’s a “choker” then calls out Wanderlei Silva”
  1. I would disagree with the end to your article. Wand’s win over Bisping put him in my personal top 10 at 185, and I thought he looked great in his fight with Rich Franklin. He looked fast and powerful at the weight.

    This is my personal top 10 at 185:

    1. Anderson
    2. Sonnen
    3. Okami
    4. Belfort
    5. Marquardt
    6. Maia
    7. Wanderlei
    8. Bisping
    9. Jacare
    10.Santiago

    Shields, and Hendo both would be there if they weren’t competing in different weight classes now.

  2. Yeah the more I think about it and talking about it with Buhl, it actually probably does make good sense. For some reason though I have a hard time seeing Marquardt standing there banging it out. Maybe he’ll get a new fire.

  3. Oh yea, that part I can totoally agree with. All this I’ll bang with him talk taken into account, I still think maquardt would shoot a double leg half way through round one.

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