Marquardt looks to emerge from UFC’s middleweight pack

Nate Marquardt has been in this position before.

It just feels different to him this time.

Marquardt will fight Yushin Okami in the main event of UFC 122 today in Oberhausen, Germany, and the winner will be next in line to fight for the middleweight title.

Marquardt, a 31-year-old mixed martial arts veteran, was in a similar scenario nine months ago, fighting Chael Sonnen in Las Vegas with a title shot at stake.

For some reason, Marquardt didn't go into the fight with the same zeal to earn the belt he had in the past.

"I didn't lose it completely. I just think I lost sight of my desire. I don't know if it's just that I've had so many fights throughout my career or what it is," he said. "All I can tell you is the desire that I have now is greater than when I fought Chael Sonnen and it feels the same as when I was a kid."

Marquardt inflicted a great deal of damage in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bout, but Sonnen scored several takedowns and was able to hold down Marquardt on the mat for long stretches in earning a unanimous-decision victory.

While the loss set him back in the middleweight title pecking order, Marquardt said it might have rekindled his competitive fire.

"I feel I lost to a guy that I should have beaten," he said. "That really makes me mad at myself. It just reinvigorated that desire."

He insists he is now singularly focused.

"I want to be the champ, and I know I'm one step away and I'm going to give it everything that I have to be the champion," he said.

Marquardt was even closer to that goal in 2007. He earned a title shot but was knocked out late in the first round by Anderson Silva, who still owns the belt.

That bout appeared to serve as another learning experience for Marquardt. Before the title fight, he had won all four of his UFC appearances, but three went to decision.

He has gone 5-2 since losing to Silva but has finished his opponent in all five victories.

The winner of Marquardt-Okami will fight the winner of Silva's next title defense against Vitor Belfort, which is scheduled for February.

Silva's aura of invincibility was somewhat diminished by his fight with Sonnen, who controlled him for nearly five full rounds before Silva escaped with a submission win in the closing minutes.

Marquardt said that fight didn't teach him anything new about Silva's potential weaknesses.

"It's been known to me for a long time that Anderson had holes in his game," Marquardt said. "And, if anything, it was more of an eye-opening event for the media because they put him on this pedestal like he was unbeatable, and Chael was able to expose that he's susceptible to takedowns, susceptible to ground-and-pound and even if somebody lands a punch on him that he actually can get wobbled."

The rest of today's card, which airs tape delayed on Spike (Cox 29) at 9 p.m., is devoid of big names.

Jorge Rivera will meet Alessio Sakara in what should be a slugfest, as could a light heavyweight bout between Goran Reljic and Krzysztof Soszynski.

The card includes two German fighters: Dennis Siver fights Englishman Andre Winner and Peter Sobotta takes on Las Vegan Amir Sadollah.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.