The Doggy Bag: Sprechen Sie UFC 122?

Nate Marquardt: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com

What do you reckon is the better outcome for the UFC at UFC 122: a [Nate] Marquardt win or a Yushin Okami win? Marquardt seems like the more promotable guy, but I feel like with the history between Okami and Anderson Silva because of their first bout ending in controversy, Silva would be more motivated to fight Okami and there would be less chance of a really lame fight like the [Thales] Leites encounter. Then again, you might just get two fighters who want to counter one another, never throwing a punch. Which result gives us the best chance for a great rematch?
-- Mark from Newcastle.

I truly believe that whoever wins this fight deserves to fight the winner of the Anderson Silva-Vitor Belfort match scheduled for early next year. This is a nice bit of win-win matchmaking from Joe Silva -- assuming Silva retains his belt -- because no matter what happens he has an interesting storyline to build his next middleweight championship bout around.

In Marquardt, the UFC has a dynamic fighter who has shown he can scrap with some of the better middleweights in the world and has been champing at the bit to get another crack at “The Spider.” He looked like he was going to be competitive against Silva but one punch changed that fight and it was over just seconds later.

The former King of Pancrase is certain he has grown as a fighter and the lack of focus Silva has displayed on occasion could be seen as a chink in the once invincible armor. I know Nate and his teammates, including welterweight boss Georges St. Pierre, feel he will be more prepared when, or if, he does find himself across the Octagon from the champ once again.

As for Okami, he does hold a victory over Silva, albeit by disqualification, after he was illegally kicked in their 2006 Rumble on the Rock tournament match. Okami is the last man to “beat” Silva and I’m sure the champ would like to erase that bad memory.

Okami does present an interesting style matchup for Silva: he is a big middleweight who likes to clinch up and bully his opponents. It might give him a fighting chance to become the first Japanese fighter to bring UFC gold back to the Land of the Rising Sun. However, he will still be fighting an uphill battle against one of the most dominant fighters the sport has ever seen.

Truthfully, as much as I would like to see someone test Anderson Silva the way Chael Sonnen did this summer, I just don’t think either of these fighters possesses the kind of game necessary to extend Silva the way Sonnen was able to.

Silva may feel he has more to gain in a second dance with Okami. Unfortunately for the champ, I think Marquardt will be able to exploit the plodding style of Okami and earn another shot at the strap.