Video: How did Nate Marquardt pull off this sick head-kick KO at UFC Fight Night 96?

PORTLAND, Ore. – If you’re not going to respect Nate Marquardt’s takedowns, he’s going to make you pay. Tamdan McCrory learned the hard way.

In a featured UFC Fight Pass-streamed bout at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 96 event, Marquardt (35-16-2 MMA, 13-9 UFC) first wobbled and then dropped fellow middleweight McCrory (14-5 MMA, 4-5 UFC) for a second-round knockout victory.

Before the event moved to FS2 and FS1, Marquardt concluded the online prelims in definitive fashion and brought some life to the crowd at Moda Center in Portland, Ore. Here’s how it happened (via Twitter):

Marquardt is a former Strikeforce champion and longtime vet who made his pro debut way back in 1999. Currently in his second UFC stint, the 37-year-old was in a 1-5 skid before recently winning two of three. Despite the wear and tear of nearly two decades in the sport, the father of four (a fifth arrives next month) said he’s still getting better with each camp.

“In the gym I’ve been going like this – just exceeding, learning and getting better and better, fight to fight,” he told MMAjunkie after the event while making special mention of coach Trevor Wittman. “Sometimes the result of the fight doesn’t really show where I’ve gotten. It only takes a couple mistakes in this game to cost you the fight.”

He said that’s what happened in his previous bout – a knockout loss to Thiago “Marreta” Santos. After a few back-to-back mistakes, Marquardt said, his night was spoiled.

He said he was determined not to make those mistakes against McCrory, so when he saw a path to victory, he took it.

Marquardt said McCrory didn’t respect his takedowns. Comfortable off his back, “The Barn Cat” didn’t hesitate to close the distance once Marquardt tagged him from range. Marquardt managed a few takedowns because of it, but he wanted to capitalize even more.

“I thought that at that point, you know, he’s not going to respect the takedown because he’s really good off his back,” he said. “So I knew I had to drop some power in the right hand.”

Once he had his opponent “wobbled” with a big right hand, Marquardt kept his distance and delivered the fight-ending kick, which netted him a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Check out his full breakdown of the finishing sequence above.

And for complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 96, check out the UFC Events section of the site.