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UFC 182: Tavares vs. Marquardt
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Published: 1/3/2015  at  3:44:00 AM
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UFC 182: Tavares vs. Marquardt

Saturday, Jan. 3 – 10:30 p.m. ET
Las Vegas, NV

Brad Tavares (12-4) vs. Nate Marquardt (36-13-2)

Middleweight fight
Line: Marquardt -130, Tavares Even

One of the most experienced fighters in the UFC will be in action Saturday night as Nate Marquardt takes on Brad Tavares in Las Vegas.

Marquardt started in the UFC in 2005, and then rejoined after a two-fight stint in Strikeforce in 2013. While he is not the same fighter as he was early in his career, the 35-year-old Marquardt showed in his last fight that he still has the ability to get job done. In that June 28 bout against James Te Huna, he was able to get a victory in the first round by way of an armbar. Marquardt has gone up against some of the best fighters in the world, facing guys like Tyrone Woodley, Demian Maia and Jake Ellenberger. He went 2-1 against those guys, with his loss being to Ellenberger. He is very strong for the 185-pound weight class, and poses quite a challenge for Tavares, who is trying to prove he belongs among the best middleweight fighters. But after winning five in a row, he has lost his past two fights, with his most recent loss coming to Tim Boetsch on August 16 at UFC Fight Night. In that bout, he lost by TKO in the second round, and will have to prove he belongs among the best. The 27-year-old Tavares is a young prospect, but MARQUARDT is still too good of fighter for Tavares to pick up his signature victory.

Nate "The Great" Marquardt enters this fight with 36 career victories, and he has shown in his career to be able to win in many different ways. He has 14 victories by submission, with another 11 coming by both knockout and decision. Marquardt's biggest strength in this fight will be his ability to take his opponent to the mat, as he has a takedown average of 2.42, compared to 1.47 for Tavares. His is also much more accurate when attempting a takedown at 61% takedown accuracy, compared to 31% for Tavares. When Marquardt takes his opponent to the ground, he is so good at finding his opponent’s weakness. He can take the opponent down to both get the submission victory, while also wearing his opponent out for a decision victory. If Tavares can prevent Marquardt from taking the bout to the ground, he has a great chance to get the win.

Tavares has 12 wins in his career, with six of them coming by way of decision. He also has four wins by knockout and the other two coming by way of submission. Of these six finishes, five have come in the first round, which shows that the Hawaii native does a great job of preparing for each bout. Tavares, who was a standout linebacker on his high school football team, lands more significant strikes (3.1) than Marquardt (2.8). For Tavares, the two-fight losing skid is something that he has to get over if he wants to be considered as a force in the middleweight class. A win against Marquardt would be a great first step in that direction.


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