LAS VEGAS, Aug. 6 — Presuming UFC president Dana White hoped tonight for a replay of the successful “Ultimate Fighter” season finale, which was viewed by 3.3 million people when it aired live on Spike TV in April, he’s probably not very happy right now.
Headlined by a middleweight non-title bout between veterans Ivan Salaverry (pictures) and Nathan Marquardt (pictures), the eight-fight card, packed with young UFC fighters and season one cast members from TUF, left most of the sold-out Cox Pavilion crowd grumbling its displeasure as they exited the building.
Odds are, fans watching at home weren’t ecstatic either.
In the main event, Marquardt fought a technical, tactical battle against Salaverry, earning a unanimous decision victory (30-27 on each judge’s card). Sherdog.com agreed with the scoring.
Both Marquardt, a Denver, Colo. product making his UFC debut after 20 professional bouts in Japan’s Pancrase organization, and Salaverry employed a defensive tact, neither willing to offer an uneducated flurry often seen among less experienced fighters.
“It was really strategic, I believe,” Salaverry said after the fight. “I would believe that a lot of MMA enthusiasts would enjoy it. The crowd itself I don’t think did. All in all, it was weird. It was like fighting my shadow.”
Coming into the bout it was thought that Marquardt and Salaverry were evenly matched middleweights, their fighting styles and tactics near identical. And in many ways that bore out during their 15 minutes in the Octagon.
(Though many will call this bout boring, it was a contest between two pros. Fights like this demand five rounds, not the three currently proscribed for non-championship bouts.)
The difference in the fight came from their physical tools, as Marquardt was the more athletic fighter. His quickness edge was clear in the fight’s first minutes and he scored to Salaverry’s front leg with blistering Thai kicks. Their effects paid dividends and soon Salaverry only circled and offered pedestrian strikes.
Marquardt simply blocked and countered, and after two periods was in clear control of the fight.
“I think how he got me basically was when I committed to the low-kick, mid-kick or high-kick, then he was able to get a takedown off of it,” Salaverry said. “Basically there wasn’t anything on the ground that he did to me. He tried to take my back and even then it didn’t work.”
For Salaverry to have had a shot, he needed to come out aggressively in round three. But it turned out to be the least compelling round for the Seattle, Wash.-based fighter.
As Marquardt continued his effort, stopping each of Salaverry’s takedown attempts, tactically countering the UFC veteran in every department, the frustration mounted — both for Salaverry and fans in the arena.
Marquardt is no stranger to competitive bouts that go the distance, and he was content with the pace of the fight. Salaverry presented no danger and he knew the decision was his if he couldn’t finish before time ran out.
“It feels great, mainly because I trained so hard,” Marquardt said. “It feels real good.”
“Hopefully next time it’s going to be a more exciting fight.”
The victory sets up a possible UFC middleweight title shot for Marquardt, a three-time King of Pancrase. “I’m here for the belt,” he said. “I’m here to be the champion. God’s given me all the gifts to be champion.”
If Matt Lindland (pictures) fails to beat Joe Doerksen (pictures) in two weeks, Marquardt would be next in line to challenge Rich Franklin (pictures).