MARQUARDT: "I'M GOING TO TAKE THAT BELT"

By Ken Pishna

“I’m going to take the belt. That’s all there is to it.”

These are the words that Ultimate Fighting Championship’s PR machine wanted to hear a year and a half ago… but they didn’t. These were the words that 7-time Middleweight King of Pancrase Nate Marquardt was supposed to say when he debuted in the main event of the UFC’s first live Fight Night show on Spike TV.

Those words didn’t come from Marquardt’s mouth a year and half ago because he’s not a trash talker. “That’s not trash talking,” says a confident Marquardt. “I see holes in his game and while I’m sure he sees holes in mine, I know I have the best team.”

These are statements that just couldn’t have come from Marquardt at that time, but are coming forth now as he is on the cusp of his first UFC title shot. While he established himself as a world-class fighter in Pancrase, he wasn’t near the fighter that he is today. “I did really well, but Pancrase is where I got my experience, where I learned to fight. But I think what I’m doing now is much better than what I was doing in my Pancrase fights. I’m more proud of what I’m doing now than what I was able to do in Pancrase.”

The difference? His team. When Marquardt made the jump to the UFC, he also made the jump to Greg Jackson’s fight team in New Mexico where he trains with Keith Jardine, Diego Sanchez, Rashad Evans, Joey Villasenor, and many other top fighters.

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