Despite his 25-7-2 record (including a 4-1 mark in the UFC), a top-10 worldwide middleweight ranking, and solid name recognition within the UFC, Nate Marquardt is still waiting for a call about his next fight.
Steve Sievert, our friend over at the Houston Chronicle, recently spoke to Marquardt’s agent. Marquardt has one fight remaining on his current deal, and according to the agent, the UFC hasn’t contacted his client about his next fight or to discuss a possible contract extension.
Because the UFC prefers to re-sign fighters before the final fights on their contracts, this doesn’t appear to be bode well for the seven-time King of Pancrase.
A full four months have passed since Marquardt’s last fight — a first-round TKO to middleweight champion Anderson Silva that snapped a six-fight win streak. Additionally, Marquardt’s name hasn’t been mentioned as December’s UFC 79, January’s UFC 80, and February’s UFC 81 fight cards begin to fill up.
Former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, who also has one fight left on his current deal, apparently now has some company on the sidelines.
MMAjunkie.com has been told that the stalled negotiations between Arlovski and the UFC are due to the fighter’s salary demands. However, we’ve also been told Arlovski simply wants to fulfill the terms of his contract (and fight the last fight on his deal) before he considers signing a new one.
Arlovski last fought at UFC 70, but salary figures for the event aren’t available. However, we do know that Arlovski earned $145,000 ($90,000 to show and $55,000 as a win bonus) for a UFC 66 victory a year ago.
Marquardt, though, earned just $24,000 in his loss to Silva (and he would have earned an additional $24,000 with a victory), so his re-signing price would be unlikely to break the bank.
So why haven’t UFC officials apparently been in touch?
The same question is being asked about Yushin Okami, a fellow middleweight contender who defeated Jason MacDonald at UFC 77 last month. The victory pushed Okami’s record to 21-4, which includes a remarkable 5-1 mark in the UFC (with his only loss coming to Rich Franklin in a fight he nearly won).
Okami earned a very affordable $24,000 — $12,000 to show and $12,000 to win — for the fight.
However, UFC President Dana White said it was Okami’s last fight on his contract, and in a post-UFC 77 press conference, he confirmed that the fighter’s contract had expired. White also gave a list of middleweight contenders; Okami’s name wasn’t on it.
In fact, there are rumblings that Okami may have already signed a deal with the Tokyo-based K-1 organization.
If the UFC’s middleweight division were stacked with talent, dismissing two fighters like Okami and Marquardt (solid fighters who unfortunately have been tagged with the term “boring” at times) could possibly be explained. But as it stands, the division is desperate for talent. Other than Dan Henderson, a light heavyweight who doesn’t want to move down to 185 pounds, the UFC lacks a single marketable name to challenge Silva’s champion status.
So why let Marquardt and Okami — two fighters with solid records and marketable name recognition even with casual fans — possibly walk? After all, those types of fighters — affordable and well-known — are dreams-come-true for rival organizations.
Steve Sievert, our friend over at the Houston Chronicle, recently spoke to Marquardt’s agent. Marquardt has one fight remaining on his current deal, and according to the agent, the UFC hasn’t contacted his client about his next fight or to discuss a possible contract extension.
Because the UFC prefers to re-sign fighters before the final fights on their contracts, this doesn’t appear to be bode well for the seven-time King of Pancrase.
A full four months have passed since Marquardt’s last fight — a first-round TKO to middleweight champion Anderson Silva that snapped a six-fight win streak. Additionally, Marquardt’s name hasn’t been mentioned as December’s UFC 79, January’s UFC 80, and February’s UFC 81 fight cards begin to fill up.
Former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, who also has one fight left on his current deal, apparently now has some company on the sidelines.
MMAjunkie.com has been told that the stalled negotiations between Arlovski and the UFC are due to the fighter’s salary demands. However, we’ve also been told Arlovski simply wants to fulfill the terms of his contract (and fight the last fight on his deal) before he considers signing a new one.
Arlovski last fought at UFC 70, but salary figures for the event aren’t available. However, we do know that Arlovski earned $145,000 ($90,000 to show and $55,000 as a win bonus) for a UFC 66 victory a year ago.
Marquardt, though, earned just $24,000 in his loss to Silva (and he would have earned an additional $24,000 with a victory), so his re-signing price would be unlikely to break the bank.
So why haven’t UFC officials apparently been in touch?
The same question is being asked about Yushin Okami, a fellow middleweight contender who defeated Jason MacDonald at UFC 77 last month. The victory pushed Okami’s record to 21-4, which includes a remarkable 5-1 mark in the UFC (with his only loss coming to Rich Franklin in a fight he nearly won).
Okami earned a very affordable $24,000 — $12,000 to show and $12,000 to win — for the fight.
However, UFC President Dana White said it was Okami’s last fight on his contract, and in a post-UFC 77 press conference, he confirmed that the fighter’s contract had expired. White also gave a list of middleweight contenders; Okami’s name wasn’t on it.
In fact, there are rumblings that Okami may have already signed a deal with the Tokyo-based K-1 organization.
If the UFC’s middleweight division were stacked with talent, dismissing two fighters like Okami and Marquardt (solid fighters who unfortunately have been tagged with the term “boring” at times) could possibly be explained. But as it stands, the division is desperate for talent. Other than Dan Henderson, a light heavyweight who doesn’t want to move down to 185 pounds, the UFC lacks a single marketable name to challenge Silva’s champion status.
So why let Marquardt and Okami — two fighters with solid records and marketable name recognition even with casual fans — possibly walk? After all, those types of fighters — affordable and well-known — are dreams-come-true for rival organizations.