Sonnen Takes On Marquardt At UFC 110…

November 10, 2009, at 8:36 am

This is incredibly unexciting to most fans. Everyone was expecting Nate Marquardt to get a shot at Anderson Silva or at the very least Dan Henderson, but with both of those guys held up, he’s gonna get Chael Sonnen. The news comes from our lovely neighbors to the north, Sportsnet.ca.

While Nate Marquardt (29-8-2) was awaiting a potentially pending bout with Dan Henderson for UFC 108, it appears he has decided to move on and face Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) instead at UFC 110.

Sources have informed me that the two are awaiting bout agreements and will be added to an already stellar card that the UFC is building for their debut in Sydney, Australia in February.

Marquardt is coming off a stunning KO victory at UFC 102 versus Demian Maia, a bout he ended with a devastating right cross, that looked like a video-game, highlight-reel finish just 21 seconds into the first round.

For Sonnen, the UFC rewarded him with this contender bout after he dismantled and completely controlled Yushin Okami at UFC 104, earning a unanimous judges’ decision. Okami had always been considered a highly touted contender and was mentioned many times as a potential challenger to current champion, Anderson (The Spider) Silva. After a variety of injuries and a disappointing performance against Sonnen, the latter was bumped up the middleweight food chain and is inching ever so close to a crack at the champ.

The win over Okami really opened my eyes to what Sonnen is. He may not be the most athletically gifted fighter in the world, but he’s never going to be an easy fight for anyone.

I’d call Marquardt the favorite, because outside of wrestling, he has ever other advantage in the fight. However, I’d think that it’s pretty close to a toss-up at the end of the day.