Nate Marquardt Explains UFC 188 Meltdown, Backs Coach Stopping the Fight

After Nate Marquardt‘s loss to Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 188 in Mexico City on Saturday, many people were left thinking perhaps it was time for the former King of Pancrase and UFC middleweight contender to call it quits.

Marquardt, however, took to Facebook after the fight to explain the circumstances that lead to one of the worst performances of his career. Like several other fighters competing in Mexico City’s rarified air at 7,382 feet (2,250 meters) in altitude, Marquardt suffered the ill effects of being ill prepared for the thin air.

“Just wanted to update everyone on how I’m doing. The day of the fight, I was dealing with some issues. I got some sickness and was dehydrated and cramping in my muscles. Before the fight I threw up and had abdominal cramping. Also I had an issue with my blood pressure probably due to the altitude,” Marquardt wrote.

“The research I did for the altitude was inconclusive and I thought that coming from Denver, I would adjust in the 4 days. I’m not sure what hit me worse, the sickness or the altitude but once the fight was 2 minutes in the first round, I knew something was wrong. My legs were stiffening and not working correctly. There was one knee to my body that wasn’t that hard and it cramped up my whole insides.”

Marquardt’s head corner, Trevor Wittman, tried to stop the fight during the second round by getting up on the cage apron, but ringside officials rebuffed his efforts, and Marquardt made it to the end of the first 10 minutes of the fight.

He would go no further, however, as Wittman was successful in getting the bout stopped in between the second and third rounds.

“My corner tried to stop the fight in the second round. After the second round, Trevor said he was going to stop the fight and I said ‘No!'” Marquardt explained. “Then I decided in my head that I would sit there until the round started and give one last attempt to knock him out. I knew I had nothing in the tank though. Then I looked up and saw the fight was stopped.

“Now I can say that Trevor did the right thing and protected me because I couldn’t move. I’m not trying to make an excuse for losing. I don’t really feel that I need an excuse because I did my best with what I had and fought hard when I could. I just want my friends to know why I fought like that and that I’m ok. Congrats to Kelvin. He’s a great fighter and I hope to train with him someday.”

Believing he still has the skills to compete in the UFC, Marquardt is not prepared to call it a day, no matter what anyone thought of his performance on Saturday. A highly religious man, Marquardt believes that God is still guiding him to the Octagon.

“I trust that God has a plan for me and it’s in the UFC for sure from what he’s shown me.”