The UFC middleweight division continues to be in the news as yesterday reports surfaced that Vitor Belfort (19-8) was out of his scheduled main event fight with Yushin Okami at UFC 122. The fight was suppose to determine the number one contender in the middleweight division. Nate Marquardt was quickly announced as the replacement against Okami in the UFC 122 main event.
Nate Marquardt’s TKO victory over Rousimar Palhares at Ultimate Fight Night did little to help him in his attempt to challenge Anderson Silva for the middleweight title again. Marquardt (30-9-2, 8 KO, 15 Sub) has gone 5-2 since his first round TKO loss to Silva, including a split decision loss to Thales Leites and a unanimous decision loss to Chael Sonnen. He also has notable wins over Martin Kampmann, Wilson Gouveia and Demain Maia during that period. While there is no doubt that Marquardt is near the top of the middleweight division, he is no closer to another title shot.
The Main Card of UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs. Palhares featured a couple of Lightweight fights, originally there were three until Efrian Escudero missed weight and his fight was changed to Catchweight. Among the lightweights fighting was Jim Miller (17-2), who left The Octagon with a Unanimous Decision victory over tough UFC veteran Gleison Tibau.
Ultimate fight Night 22 is in the books and besides the odd finish, the night was very solid. The night had several hard-fought matchups that went the distance with surprisingly no crazy judges decisions. Only three of the 10 fights ended early and the winners of those fights were all rewarded with fight bonuses.
Less than 24 hours away from Ultimate fight Night 22: Marquardt vs Palhares followed by the season premiere of the Ultimate 12. Tomorrows fights should be a solid night of fights headlined by a very tough middleweight fight between Nate Marquardt and Rousimar Palhares.
The highlight moments include a very intense staredown between Ross Pearson and Cole Miller and Kyle Kingsbury coming out in only his shorts and a fanny pack. After he weighed in, Kyle responded via twitter saying “it holds special powers… and my blackberry, wallet and food.”
Jared Hamman talked about his UFC debut, going to the judges, how his brother got him into MMA and of course Kyle Kingsbury at UFN 22
This card is unique because nine matchup changes occurred before the fight card was finalized
