Marquardt, who was set to face Yoshiyuki Yoshida at the show, has not fought since March 2011 when he beat Dan Miller via decision at UFC 128. He was supposed to face Rick Story at welterweight a few months later at a UFC Live event but was unable to receive medical clearance due to an elevated testosterone level and was released from his contract shortly thereafter.

The situation with BAMMA is no doubt disappointing to Marquardt who expressed his excitement over fighting in the U.K. during a recent conversation with Five Ounces of Pain.

“The British fans have been very receptive to me,” explained Marquardt. “I think the fans over there are very passionate and one of the loudest crowds you’ll ever see…I went over there in August and was very well received.”

The 32-year old was also itching to fight again, likely adding to his frustration over BAMMA’s delay and prompting his decision to look for a greener pasture.

“I just want to fight the best in the world,” said Marquardt. “To me it doesn’t matter who it is, what organization it is, I just want to fight the best. There are a lot of guys out there who are top level fighters that I’m going to be able to fight and those are the guys I want to fight.”

No news has surfaced on what Marquardt may do next. He holds an overall record of 31-10-2 including past wins in the Octagon over respected adversaries such as Martin Kampmann, Demian Maia, and Rousimar Palhares.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

(Written with the assistance of Bryan Levick)

Marquardt was rumored to have been set to face Paul Daley, but terms could not be worked out between the two sides. Both have made mention of wanting to fight each other in numerous interviews and press events since Marquardt was released by the UFC and signed to the England-based promotion.

After failing to receive medical clearance by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission before his UFC Live 4 main event fight with Rick Story, Marquardt was released from the UFC. It was later found out that a prescribed testosterone led to Marquardt’s positive test, but his hormone levels were higher than the commission had set for him.

“Although we had planned for Nate’s first fight to be in December, we believe it is worth waiting a further eight weeks for such a great matchup,” BAMMA CEO David Green stated in a release.

Marquardt is 31-10-2 in his career, including a loss to Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight title. He also lost two eliminator bouts that would have led to rematches with Silva, dropping decisions to Yushin Okami and Chael Sonnen.

Yoshida (13-6) competed for the UFC previously, as well, going 2-4. Three straight losses to Anthony Johnson, Mike Guymon, and Chris Lozano led to his release.

The fight is expected to be for the BAMMA’s vacant welterweight title.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The organization sent out a press release earlier today announcing the signing.

Marquardt stated that, “Offers came in from several fight promotions, but we felt that BAMMA was definitely the best fit. They put on high-quality shows, stack their cards with top-level fighters, and sign those fighters to multi-fight deals.”

However, his motivation also stems from a sense of redemption.

“They are also the only fight organization in the UK that implements PED testing,” explained Marquardt. “To be honest, that is one of the main reasons that we chose BAMMA. I want to prove to my fans and to the world that I’m the real deal and that I belong on top,” said Nate. After being released by on the UFC on June 25th, the day before his scheduled fight and welterweight debut against Rick Story, it came out that “The Great” was let go by the organization for not having medical clearance due to medically prescribed hormone replacement therapy caused the elevated testosterone levels. Marquardt was initially suspended by the athletic commission but the suspension was lifted on July 13 after Nate re-filed his paperwork and the commission determined that everything checked out clean.

BAMMA’s Liam Fisher wasted no time signing him and is happy to have the former “King of Pancrase” middleweight champion on their roster saying that, “As soon as we received word that the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission lifted Marquardt’s suspension we jumped at the chance to sign him. He is a top ranked contender and an asset to any promotion. Words cannot express how excited we are that Marquardt is now fighting under the BAMMA banner.”

While the well-rounded competitor’s BAMMA debut date and opponent have yet to be scheduled, you can bet that Nate is itching to get back into the cage.

Five Ounces of Pain was able to confirm the change in status through PSAC Executive Director Greg Sirb in addition to the fighter’s management team at Alchemist MMA.

News of Marquardt’s suspension, albeit a short-lived one, first surfaced a little less than three weeks ago after being yanked from a June 26 event the day of weigh-ins due to having shown an inordinate amount of testosterone in his body. The 32-year old was promptly released by the UFC before coming out a few days later to explain the situation was not as fishy as originally perceived by the public.

According to Marquardt, the abnormal results were due to treatment for a lack of testosterone in his body and had been doctor-recommended. He also explained he had been cleared by New Jersey’s athletic board before a March fight with the same scenario in place and had been in active communication with the PSAC prior to the stumble last month at UFC Live 4.

With today’s news Marquardt will now be free to move forward with his career and put the controversy behind him. Though nothing official is in place, the most likely landing spot for the 31-10-2 former title-contender appears to be Bellator with other possible options of course including DREAM, MFC, or even a handful of one-offs in a smaller organization.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The answer to those questions were given earlier today when Marquardt went on The MMA Hour to clear the air while also explaining the factors leading him to potential banishment from the UFC.

According to the 32-year old fighter, his circumstances are the result of having shown an elevated level of testosterone brought on by hormone replacement therapy he’d opted to undergo starting in August 2010. His decision to do came at the advice of a doctor after test results showed a testosterone deficiency was likely leading to some fatigue issues Marquardt had been experiencing prior to the appointment.

With the road seemingly clear after receiving an exemption in New Jersey for his bout at UFC 129 in March, Marquardt then turned his attention towards approval in Pennsylvania where UFC Live 4 was held this past weekend. However, after going eight weeks without an injection in order to satisfy a condition of his previous agreement with New Jersey Marquardt’s testosterone level had again dropped enough to merit the need for him to return to his physician for treatment less than a month ago.

Marquardt continued on to say his testosterone level was actively monitored leading up to the fight and was in decline but come time for weigh-ins it still exceeded the State’s required limit.

Citing concern about his choice of doctors, Marquardt seemed genuinely upset in the interview and revealed he learned he’d been released along with the rest of the world when Dana White posted a short, scathing video through his Twitter account.

“I just want to get past this situation right now, get off suspension, let the dust settle, and go from there,” Marquardt concluded.

The 31-10-2 former title-contender also mentioned he’d already started receiving offers to fight for other promotions and would do so at welterweight when the time comes for him to sign a deal.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

News of the replacement was reported through the UFC’s website where it mentioned Marquardt’s original opponent, Anthony Johnson, had been scrapped from their headlining bout at UFC Live 4 due to an undisclosed injury.

Including his outpointing of Alves, Story has won six straight fights and twelve of his last thirteen including victories over Dustin Hazelett, Nick Osipczak, Johny Hendricks, and Jake Ellenberger.

Though the match-up for Marquardt may have changed, it is likely his camp won’t as Johnson and Story are both talented wrestlers with powerful hands. Their June 26 pairing will mark the divisional debut of Marquardt at welterweight after a successful run at 185-pounds. He holds an overall record of 31-10-2 and was last seen beating Dan Miller by Unanimous Decision in March at UFC 128. Other notches on his belt include Martin Kampmann, Kazuo Misaki, and Demian Maia.

It looks like “The Count” was listening, and while he apparently doesn’t share Marquardt’s interest in a match-up he definitely had a few choice words of his own to offer in response to his peer’s statements as he made clear in a recent discussion with The MMA Hour.

“He’s a steroid cheat, let’s not forget that,” the 32-year replied when asked about Marquardt while referring to 2005 suspension for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug (nandrolone). Marquardt later had the suspension reduced after coming back clean in a subsequent test and proving to the NSAC the substance he used was available over the counter.

“He’s had points taken away for illegally kneeing people himself, and then he goes out talking about me as if I’m Satan or something. The guy’s an absolute hypocrite,” Bisping continued.

Marquardt was penalized at UFC 85 after kneeing a downed Thales Leites in a move ultimately playing a role in the Coloradan losing a Split Decision.

The outspoken Bisping didn’t stop at simply questioning Marquardt’s moral fiber but also brought up important past performances where “Nate the Great” didn’t live up to his nickname.

“He sh*t the bed every time he’s in a main event,” Bisping began. “He’s had three #1 contender fights and a title shot and lost them all. I want to fight the top guys and I think Chael Sonnen for me is the biggest possible name I could get, and that’s what I’m hoping for. Nate Marquardt doesn’t excite me.”

Like Marquardt, Sonnen has also lobbied for a chance to get his hands on Bisping even going so far as to write a letter to UFC matchmaker Joe Silva worded in his own unique style.

As far as Bisping’s reasons for wanting to face him, the 21-3 striker made it clear he felt Sonnen was not only an “amazing fighter” but a “challenge” and close second to champ Anderson Silva as indicated in the Team Quest competitor’s razor-thin loss to “The Spider” at UFC 117.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

UFC President Dana White made the announcement late Friday night. White ensured fans that Akiyama was safe but it is unknown when he will return to action.

Marquardt will try to rebound after losing a middleweight #1 contender’s fight to Yushin Okami last November while Miller is looking to make it three wins in a row against the highly touted Marquardt. UFC announced that Carmella DeCesare will replace Miller against Catone and that fight would take place at a catch-weight of 195 pounds.

UFC 128 is scheduled for March 19, 2011 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The event is headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Title fight between champion Mauricio Rua and challenger Jon Jones. The co-main event features Urijah Faber, making his UFC bantamweight debut, against former WEC Bantamweight Champion Eddie Wineland.

The earthquake is the most powerful to have ever hit Japan in recorded history. No figure has been released in terms of damage estimates but given the extensive destruction it will clearly be an exceptionally high figure. Interested parties can help donate to the relief effort via the Red Cross.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

News of the face-off and attached event were reported by ESPN. It was also stated verbal agreements have been made and contracts are en route.

Prior to the 30-10-2 Marquardt’s unanimous decision defeat to Yushin Okami last November at UFC 122 he had won four of his last five fights and appeared to potentially be in line for another crack at the promotion’s 185-pound championship. He has found in-ring success against a number of notable opponents including Demian Maia, Martin Kampmann, and Kazuo Misaki in his career and has only been finished a single time in the last seven years.

Akiyama also found himself on the losing end of the judges’ scorecards in his last fight, a headlining scrap at UFC 120 against Michael Bisping this past October. It was the second consecutive defeat for the man dubbed “Sexyama” with the other being his highly-memorable throwdown with Chris Leben at UFC 116. He holds an overall record of 13-3 and beaten respectable foes like Alan Belcher, Melvin Manhoef, and Denis Kang.

The middleweight duo will join light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at the March 19 show, who is defending his belt against Rashad Evans, with Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez, Jim Miller, Kurt Pellegrino, and others also attached to the card.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

News of the powerful submission-specialist’s extension, as well as his desire to fight Marquardt, came by way of his trainer at Brazilian Top Team, Murilo Bustamante, in a conversation with Tatame.

“He’s very motivated, he knows that he let the victory escape – he made a mistake – but these things happen in life…but he’s crazy to fight Nate again. He wants this fight pretty bad and he’s training for it. Rousimar is conditioned and training every day as if he had a fight scheduled,” said the old school UFC middleweight champ.

Palhares was knocked unconscious by “Nate the Great” in September after failing on one of his go-to submissions, then letting his defenses down to question the referee about the slipperiness of Marquardt’s legs. The Fight Night 22 defeat was the first time Palhares had been finished in his career and earned Marquardt an opportunity to face Yushin Okami for a title-shot, a bout he ultimately lost by way of the judges’ scorecards.

“Toquinho” is 13-3 overall and is known for his leg/ankle locks. He is 4-2 in the UFC with wins over Tomasz Drwal, Lucio Linhares, Ivan Salaverry, and Jeremy Horn, as well as the recent loss to Marquardt and a decision-based defeat in September 2008 to Dan Henderson.

Whether viewed as one more example in an unfortunate pattern or a curious coincidence given UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva’s newly freed fight-schedule, it appears Vitor Belfort will no longer see action on November 23rd at UFC 122 in Germany as originally expected due to an undisclosed injury. Belfort had been previously attached to a match-up against 25-5 Yushin Okami at the event.

Recently victorious Nate Marquardt will step in to serve as the Brazilian’s replacement against Okami in the show’s headlining bout.

News of the change in plans, as well as the reason given, was originally reported by MMAWeekly.

Belfort’s withdrawal from UFC 122 marks the fourth straight time an injury has interfered with one of his scheduled fights. The first three involved his long-rumored clash with Silva, though in fairness to “The Phenom” two of the postponements were related to the 185-pound champion’s health rather than his own.

The timing of the announcement is also interesting given Chael Sonnen’s recent hit for having used performance enhancing drugs during the build towards his title-fight against “The Spider” at UFC 117. Though Sonnen plans to appeal the California State Athletic Commission’s ruling, it is still likely he will be given a suspension of at least six months and thereby no longer be available for his previously expected rematch against Silva on January 1st, 2011 at UFC 125. With Belfort needing an undetermined amount of time to heal, and the UFC’s past desire to put him in the Octagon against Silva, it seems possible he could step into the vacancy created by Sonnen’s infraction.

Belfort has not fought since beating Rich Franklin via first-round TKO in September 2009 at UFC 103. He also has yet to compete for the organization as a true 185-pounder, as his bout against Franklin took place at a catch-weight of 195 pounds. However, the hard-hitting Brazilian is 5-0 since 2007 with four of the wins being strike-based finishes. He is 19-8 in his career with notable wins in the past over Randy Couture and Wanderlei Silva.

The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 champion, who will be fighting Charles Oliveira in the event’s co-headlining bout, not only came in heavy for the bout but significantly so. Escudero clocked in at 159 pounds and was penalized 20% of his salary as a result. Comparably, Oliveira registered in at 154 pounds, so the fight will also be contested as a “catch-weight” affair based on Escudero’s flub.

Meanwhile, middleweights Nate Marquardt and Rousimar Palhares both measured in at 186 pounds for their main-event match-up. The 29-9-2 Marquardt will be looking to bounce back from a decision loss to top 185-pound contender Chael Sonnen at UFC 109 last February when he squares off against his submission-savvy adversary at the show. Palhares is currently on a three-fight win streak and won his last pair of Octagon appearances by way of heel-hook. He has submitted eight of the thirteen opponents he’s faced and is 11-2 overall in his career.

Here is a complete rundown of “Fight Night 22” results:

Tomasz Drwal (185.5 lbs) vs. Dave Branch (186 lbs)
Brian Foster (170.5 lbs) vs. Forrest Petz (170 lbs)
David Mitchell (170.5 lbs) vs. Anthony Waldburger (171 lbs)
Rich Attonito (185 lbs) vs. Rafael Natal (186 lbs)
Jared Hamman (205 lbs) vs. Kyle Kingsbury (206 lbs)
Yves Edwards (155 lbs) vs. John Gunderson (156 lbs)
Cole Miller (156 lbs) vs. Ross Pearson (156 lbs)
Jim Miller (155.5 lbs) vs. Gleison Tibau (154 lbs)
Efrain Escudero (159 lbs) vs. Charles Oliveira (154 lbs)*
Nate Marquardt (186 lbs) vs. Rousimar Palhares (186 lbs)

* – Escudero will give 20% of his purse to Oliveira for coming in heavy

It looks like current middleweight title holder Anderson Silva will not be able to compete in February as previously hoped due to the recovery process from a recent elbow surgery taking a little longer than anticipated. With Silva forced to the sidelines for an indefinite amount of time it couldn’t make any more sense than to give Marquardt and Belfort the opportunity to truly sort out who is deserving of The Spider’s next title defense.

Belfort would be bouncing back fresh off of the heels of his first round beatdown of former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin at UFC 103 while also currently riding a five fight win streak with knockout stoppages over the likes of Terry Martin and Matt Lindland along the way.

Marquardt is also riding a five fight win streak to some degree as his “defeat” suffered at the hands of Thales Leites was really a brutal beating over Brazilian that was reversed due to deduction of two points. Since his previous loss at the hands of Anderson Silva, Marquardt has put together impressive stoppage victories over the likes of Martin Kampmann, Wilson Gouveia, and most recently Demian Maia.

Nate Marquardt put a punctuation mark on an extremely impressive comeback since his previous loss to Silva for the UFC 185 pound crown as he blasted Demian Maia with a devastating right hand that left the previously undefeated submission specialist in an unconscious heap just seconds into their highly anticipated showdown.

The fight started out normal enough, with Maia working his kicks, but it wasn’t until after the third leg attack from the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt that Marquardt dropped the anvil, and dropped Maia in the process.

Marquardt has looked nothing short of impressive ever since his previously failed bid at championship glory during UFC 73. Now, nearly thirty events later Marquardt has notched stoppage victories over the likes of Jeremy Horn, Martin Kampmann, Wilson Gouveia, and now Maia. His sole defeat was to Thales Leites; a controversial bout that could have gone Marquardt’s way had the deduction of several points not had a major impact in the bout’s outcome.

Other contender’s for the middleweight championship that deserve mentioning include Dan Henderson, who recently embarrassed Michael Bisping via devastating knockout, and of course, Yushin Okami.

MMAJunkie.com was the first to report the bout between the two middleweight dynamos on its website earlier today.

Speculation has been running rampant about who would face Anderson Silva next with the winner of Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson also under consideration after their bout at UFC 100 in July.

Marquardt is coming off an impressive third round TKO over Wilson Gouveia at UFC 95. Maia scored his tenth win in as many fights as well as his fifth submission victory in as many UFC fights on the same card against former WEC middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen. This fight has been talked about for some time now as well as both men seemed to have valid claims to be the #1 contender to Silva’s title.

Maia may have been hurt a bit by the poor performance put on by fellow Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Thales Leites at UFC 97 against Silva. Leites showed absolutely no desire to fight Silva and many fans and pundits alike believed that Maia although a more talented fighter than Leites was too similar and that the UFC would want to avoid a repeat performance in a Silva title fight.

Marquardt has had a shot at Silva back at UFC 73 in July of 2007 but was stopped by TKO in the first round. He has seemed to improve all aspects of his game while under the tutelage of Greg Jackson and many believe he would offer Silva a much better fight the second time around. Marquardt is 3-1 since his fight with Silva losing a controversial split decision to Leites at UFC 85 in June of 2008, Marquardt was penalized two points during that bout. One point was deducted for kneeing in the head while he was still on the ground and the second point was deducted for Marquardt hitting Leites on the back of the head. Referee Herb Dean was heavily criticized for taking that point away.

UFC 102 is to be headlined by a battle of former UFC heavyweight champions as Randy Couture will face former PRIDE superstar Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera. Also set to appear on this card are local fighters Chael Sonnen who will take on Wilson Gouveia, a returning Chris Leben will battle Jake Rosholt and Junior Dos Santos will battle Justin McCully.

According to Marquardt, the whole thing has been blown drastically out of proportion and what it really boils down to is simple. Penn was beaten by the better fighter that night and his unwillingness to own up to it makes him look, in Marquardt’s eyes, weak.

“To me it’s completely ridiculous,” the former UFC middleweight title challenger said. ”I think that it’s so ridiculous that it’s getting this much publicity.”

“B.J. (Penn) is coming off as really, really weak the way he’s talking about this because it’s something that they caught, and they wiped his back. It was an honest mistake that one of the coaches made and they wiped his back off so that there was no grease on his back. For him to say that that’s the reason that he lost the fight, it’s just a really weak mindset.

“I used to really think a lot about B.J. but now he has definitely gone down in my head.”
Just days after the second meeting between St. Pierre and B.J. Penn, and just as the greasing controversy began to propel out of control, Jason “Mayhem” Miller went on the MMA Underground forums and posted a column that he had wrote many months prior to the scandal that was published by FIGHT! Magazine.

The timing and the content of the post makes it more than apparent that the mysterious slippery man that Miller had been referring to must have been none other than GSP in the pairs bout that took place at UFC 52 way back in 2005. The following is a portion of the article that was posted by Miller:

“This time an anonymous MEGA arena, in a mega city, in front of a mega crowd, in a mega show, for what was then mega money to me. The stakes are much higher this time, and I had done my best to prepare for this single fight, even going so far as to NOT have a wild sex party the night before the fight, so that I could improve my mental focus. After a rough first round, I met in the center for round 2 and somewhere got taken down. ‘No biggie, my guard is good, he won’t hurt me here, and maybe I can pull off the submission, get a Dumbass of the Night’ award or something. While locked in my tight guard, I noticed that for some reason I was have trouble keeping my opponent’s head down. I practiced shirtless with my great training partners, and never had this much trouble keeping a guy from punching me. Was this guy uber strong or something? No exactly. After a couple more stiff elbows to my grillpiece, I felt the familiar slick that I would get every day at kickboxing practice on my nose and eyes, only it was on my opponents neck, now up 2 rounds, Vaseline!

“Greasy bastard, I thought. Of course I yelled to the ref, ‘Hey! He is greased up!’ but much like anyone else watching me get pounded, he didn’t give a damn, and replied with ‘He’s ok!’ Followed by another smash to the face. Yeah, ok for HIM, but I’m taking a beating over here and can’t hold onto the bastard.

“Did I ever bitch about it afterward? Nope. Why? What’s the point? Would it put the toothpaste back in the tube? No. As far as everyone saw, I lost the fight, fair and square. Would it have made a difference if he wasn’t greased up? Maybe, but honestly probably not. He was the better man that night, plain and simple. He bent the rules, not broke them, and when you get away with it, it isn’t called cheating.”

Mayhem isn’t the only one claiming shenanigans against GSP and some of his coaching staff. Former welterweight champion Matt Hughes has tossed a little bit of gasoline into the flames as well recently with posts he put up on his blog just days after UFC 94:

“I’m not the only one who has said that GSP felt greasy during a fight. I know Matt Serra has mentioned it and, even in their first fight, I think B.J. said something. I’m not saying GSP did something wrong and I’m not saying that it would have changed any outcomes of any fights; but what I am saying is, for my last two fights against Georges, he felt greasy.”

Shortly after the previous post, Hughes made a second post responding to the reaction he had received from the first. In it, he doesn’t exactly take back any of what he had to say before. The bottom line, according to Hughes, is GSP felt greasy:

“I usually don’t do this, but I will this time. When I talk about a topic one week, it usually doesn’t get brought up again. I think a lot of people need to go back and reread last week’s blog, including GSP. At no point did I accuse Georges of putting grease on himself. All I said was that he felt slick. I’ve wrestled over a thousand matches, fought 50 opponents, all I’ve ever done in life is wrestle and compete with other people. With all that experience, do you think I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between sweat and something else?  Last week when I got to Florida, I was in the elevator with Robbie, I said ‘Robbie did you hear about GSP?’  He said, ‘No, I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ I then said that B.J. accused him of being slippery, Robbie looked right up at me and said, ‘That’s what you said after Anaheim.’ Also, I’ve had several people close to me around my town who have come up to me and said the same thing. I’ve nothing against GSP, I even think he’s somewhat a likable guy. Some people are trying to say that I’m making this personal and that’s just not true at all. The reason I didn’t bring this up before was because I didn’t know there was anything to him being slick. With all the other guys coming out and saying the same thing, I just wanted to be true to myself, and to everybody else, and say that there could be some validity there. –matt”

Marquardt finds absolutely no validity in either fighter’s claims of foul play. According to him, the cheating allegations make it seem as if some of GSP’s previous opponents may be looking for an excuse, rather than admitting to being dominated by a superior athlete.

“That’s just funny,” laughed Marquardt. ”It just makes them look really weak.”

“GSP, he beat both of those guys so bad. He just demolished those guys. All three of them, B.J., Matt Hughes and Mayhem. For them to come out now and say what they’re saying, it’s just really a low blow. It’s weak, it’s just laughable.

“They just all know that they could never be that good so they have to accuse him of cheating. It’s flattering in a way.”

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has now also confirmed that a verbal agreement has been secured for Marquardt to face American Top Team middleweight Wilson Gouveia.

Gouveia just recently improved his overall record to 12-5 following a first round submission over Jason MacDonald during last Saturday’s live finale for the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter. The win improved Gouveia’s record to 2-0 since leaving the UFC’s 205-pound division and increased his lifetime record inside the Octagon to 7-2.

If finalized, the fight will mark Marquardt’s first since bout since recording a first round TKO over Martin Kampmann at UFC 88 this past September. Prior to beating Kampmann, the former King of Pancrase had lost a controversial split decision in London against Thales Leites.

A veteran of eight UFC fights, Marquardt is 6-2 lifetime when competing inside the Octagon and is 27-8-2 overall with notable victories in his career over Yuji Hoshino, Kazuo Misaki, Shonie Carter, Yves Edwards, Jeremy Horn, Ivan Salaverry, and Joe Doerksen.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the news with a source close to Marquardt earlier this afternoon. An opponent is still in the process of being finalized.

The fight will mark Marquardt’s since bout since recording a first round TKO over Martin Kampmann at UFC 88 this past September.

Prior to beating Kampmann, the former King of Pancrase had lost a controversial split decision in London against Thales Leites.

A veteran of eight UFC fights, Marquardt is 6-2 lifetime when competing inside the Octagon and is 27-8-2 overall with notable victories in his career over Yuji Hoshino, Kazuo Misaki, Shonie Carter, Yves Edwards, Jeremy Horn, Ivan Salaverry, and Joe Doerksen.

According to Cesar Gracie, there had been ”a lot of confusion about this event, whether or not it was happening, if Diaz was going to fight or not.”  Gracie said that Diaz wasn’t originally scheduled to fight Moreno, but  with Diaz hospitalized for a week with a nasty staph infection, the last thing on Gracie’s mind was telling Nick about his scheduled fight with Moreno, which is “why in subsequent interviews he (Diaz) knew nothing of fighting Moreno.”

Other reports, however, are naming veteran Dennis Hallman as Diaz’s replacement against Moreno.  Hallman, who holds two wins over Matt Hughes, had been training to fight on the now-defunct Cage Fury Fighting Championship’s October 12 card in Atlantic City, NJ, and should be ready to go (if, of course, the reports of him fighting in place of Diaz are correct). 

Also scheduled to appear on the “Brawl for it All” card are Jeff Monson, Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett, Gabe Reudiger, Ruben Villareal, Brad Imes, IFBA light heavyweight female boxing champion Mia St. John, and Leland Chapman, son of Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman.  

Click here for more on this event.