A match up between top-tier middleweight Nate Marquardt and Yoshihiro Akiyama has been officially announced for UFC 128: Shogun vs. Evans on March 19th. Both Nate “The Great” and “Sexyama” are coming off of losses to Yushin Okami and Michael Bisping, respectively, and both need a win to bounce back into contender status.
Marquardt has been knocking on the door for another title shot but has lost two of his last three fights, both defeats were #1 contenders match to Chael Sonnen and most recently to Yushin Okami. Akiyama won is UFC debut at UFC 100 but after being inactive for nearly a year has lost his last two fights in the Octagon to Chris Leben and Michael Bisping.
Keys to Combat:
Yoshihiro Akiyama is most widely known in Japan for his world-class Judo and an iron chin. His takedowns are among the best in his weight class and he has the chin to stand and bang, as evidenced by his bouts with Chris Leben and Alan Belcher. Nate Marquardt has shown some trouble in his last two losses to Chael Sonnen and Yushin Okami in dealing with top control fighters, leaving him in the lose column to the wrestlers. Akiyama needs to implement a game plan that involves top control and ground and pound. Dominant position will be his friend against Marquardt.
Marquardt is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt with heavy hands and good stand up. The middleweight standout’s best attribute is that he is so well-rounded and has the Greg Jackson team behind him. His best chance of winning is to take advantage of Akiyama’s conditioning, taking him into the later rounds and punishing him by out boxing the Japanese fighter.
This bout will be one to watch and is a great addition to the televised portion of this stacked UFC card.
