Sherdog’s Top 10: Elbows

Patrick WymanJun 17, 2015



9. Nate Marquardt vs. Tyron Woodley


After Nick Diaz departed Strikeforce for the bright lights of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the welterweight title he had defended three times was left vacant for more than a year. Into the breach, after a somewhat underwhelming and unlabeled tournament, stepped former NCAA All-American wrestler Woodley and veteran fighter Marquardt.

Woodley had not exactly been a paragon of an action-based style to that point in his career, but his fight with Marquardt quickly turned into a barnburner. Each man scored a knockdown in the first round, and they went back and forth for the first three frames.

Within the first minute of the fourth round, Marquardt buzzed Woodley with a hard combination, forcing him back to the fence. After a brief period of grinding, Marquardt separated and slammed his left elbow into Woodley’s temple and then followed with a cleaving right elbow. As Woodley crumpled, Marquardt tried for a third and then finished him off with two flush punches.

Number 8 » Benavidez vs. Torres