UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt

James Te Huna (18-7) vs. Nate Marquardt (35-13-2)

James Te Huna and Nate Marquardt look to pick up a signature win in the middleweight class at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in New Zealand.

Here is the Bet DSI breakdown on Saturday's UFC Fight Night:

Te Huna is trying to end a two-fight losing skid, dropping matches against Mauricio Rua and Glover Teixeira. He was not very impressive in either of those defeats, falling in the first round both times. Before those fights, Te Huna had put together an impressive four-match winning streak, but those fights were against lesser opponents. When he is on top of his game, he has the ability to end a match very early with his knockout power. If Te Huna is able to get off to a strong start in his middleweight debut, then he has a great chance to get a win. However, if he starts slowly for the third consecutive match, then he could once again be in some big trouble. Marquardt is on a similar losing skid, as he enters Saturday with three straight defeats, but is hoping a return to the middleweight class can change his fortunes. In his last fight against Hector Lombard, Marquardt was knocked out in 1:48. Both of these fighters need to get a win to get their confidence going, and in the end, look for the more talented TE HUNA to get things back on the right track.

Te Huna comes into this match with 18 career victories. The majority of his wins (10) have come by way of knockout. He also has five victories by decision with another three wins by way of submission. The 32-year-old will have a huge advantage in this match against Marquardt when it comes to landing significant strikes. Te Huna averages 4.31 significant strikes per minute landed, compared to only 2.82 landed by Marquardt. They both are very close when it comes to landing strikes (52 percent for Te Huna and 49 percent for Marquardt). He will also have an advantage when it comes to grappling, averaging 3.03 takedowns compared to 2.32 for Marquardt. Te Huna hails from New Zealand and fights out of Penrith, Australia, so he figures to have the backing of the crowd on Saturday. This is the type of match that could help Te Huna get back on the right track, but it will not be easy against a quality fighter such as Marquardt.

Marquardt is an extremely experienced fighter, entering the match with 35 career victories. He has 13 of those wins by way of submission. However, "The Great" has shown to be versatile with 11 wins by decision and 11 by way of knockout. He has also finished six of his past seven wins, five by knockout. His submission ability will be huge, as he has a 1.2 submission average, compared to only 0.28 takedowns by Te Huna. While the 35-year-old Lander, Wyoming native does not have an advantage grappling, Marquardt will have the ability to do some serious damage if he can get Te Huna to the ground, which should be his method of attack against an opponent two inches taller than Marquardt's 6-foot-0 frame.