UFC 128 – Shogun vs. Jones: Marquardt Decisisons Miller

Due to the unfortunate natural disaster in Japan, Yoshihiro Akiyama was unable to compete, leaving Nate Marquardt without an opponent. Dan Miller was more than happy to oblige the vacancy.  The New Jersey fighter was originally slated to face Nick Catone on the same card but couldn’t pass up a great opportunity to catapult himself back into the middleweight division.

After a short feeling out process, Miller tried to get the fight to the ground and he eventually succeeded on his second single leg attempt.  Marquardt scrambled back up and defended a guillotine attempt by Miller.   The seven time King of Pancrase slammed Miller in the last minute of the round and finished on top.

The second round saw Marquardt throwing more combinations and showed improvement in his strikes.  Nate “The Great” landed many clean right hands and kicks and displayed quick movement.  A missed flying knee attempt by Marquardt allowed Miller to temporarily take him down; the two scrambled back up shortly after.  Miller attempted another guillotine near the end of round two but Marquardt was able to defend it again.

In between rounds, a sense of urgency was expressed by Miller’s corner.  Blood dripped out of the left eye of Dan Miller as the final round began to mimic the second.  Marquardt got Miller to his back halfway in the round and never looked back.

Nate Marquardt earned a unanimous decision on the judges’ score cards and tallied his tenth victory in the octagon.