Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Strikeforce Fights

7. Nate Marquardt vs. Tyron Woodley | July 14, 2012

When Marquardt and Woodley met for the vacant welterweight title in 2012, they appeared to be fighters heading in opposite directions. Former King of Pancrase Marquardt was a well-traveled veteran, with a record of 31-10-2 at 33 years old, and while he had been a top 10 middleweight for portions of his career, he had never quite cracked the championship elite. He was dropping down to welterweight in an attempt to revitalize his career, a risky move. Woodley, meanwhile, was 30 years old and a perfect 10-0, improving with every outing. With his tremendous blend of wrestling, athleticism, and a murderous right cross, he appeared destined for greatness. And while he would indeed achieve that, Marquardt proved that night he was no steppingstone. Early on, Woodley looked like the far better fighter. Just over a minute into the contest, as Marquardt waded forward in a painfully telegraphed manner, without throwing punches, Woodley clobbered him with a right hook behind the ear, causing Marquardt to stumble drunkenly across the cage. Halfway through the stanza, Marquardt returned the favor, scoring with a right cross on the button that sat Woodley down on the canvas. He continued to abuse his younger, more heralded foe for the rest of the round, landing more punches, knees, elbows, and even a head kick. Both men were more cautious to begin Round 2, and Woodley landed a nice straight right. However, Marquardt repeatedly punished him with leg kicks and scored several clean right crosses of his own. To add insult to injury, Marquardt successfully took down Woodley with an inside trip late in the round.

Would Woodley succumb to his fate? Hardly! He opened Round 3 with a vengeance, nailing Marquardt with two flush, beautiful right crosses, a short right hook against the cage, and then a second one that floored Marquardt. Woodley pounded away with punches and elbows, but being the ultra-tough veteran he was, Marquardt tied him up inside the guard, just barely surviving. Exemplifying the constant ebbs and flows of this fight, Woodley had punched himself out and when Marquardt got back to his feet, he ended the round strong, landing right crosses and beating his younger foe in the clinch with solid knees, elbows, and dirty boxing. Marquardt picked up right where he had left off early in Round 4, nailing Woodley with accurate, hard straight rights at will while dodging the blows of his clearly gassed opponent. About 90 seconds into the round, Marquardt has Woodley pushed up against the cage and realized that he was a sitting duck for elbows. He landed a devastating left elbow followed immediately by a right one and then eviscerated him with follow-up punches. The impact of each one was amplified by Woodley's head being stuck against the cage. Marquardt walked off before the referee even had a chance to intervene, having just scored the biggest win of his career, capturing the Strikeforce welterweight championship, and putting on an amazing show fans will remember for years to come.

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