Marquardt: Askren, Penn, Daley, and Lombard are cowards and bullies
On the eve of Nate Marquardt’s headling fight vs. Rick Story at UFC on Versus 4 in June, pre-fight blood…
On the eve of Nate Marquardt’s headling fight vs. Rick Story at UFC on Versus 4 in June, pre-fight blood tests revealed Nate Marquardt’s testosterone levels to be outside the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission’s allowable limits. The PSAC disallowed the fight and suspended Marquardt. The UFC fired him shortly thereafter.
A number of fighters including Ben Askren, Michael Bisping, Paul Daley, Hector Lombard, B.J. Penn, and Chael Sonnen criticised Marquardt. Now Marquardt’s suspension is lifted, and he responds to the critics.
“Some of the fighters that think they’re so cool and tough by kicking a guy when he’s down – as far as my career, this has been one of the worst times of my life, and these guys are calling me a cheater and talking crap – I’ve taken note as to who those guys are, and I’m going to come for them,” Marquardt today told MMAjunkie.com. “Eventually, I’ll get them. I don’t care if it’s in a superfight or if they want to come down to my gym. I’ll beat them up for free.
“I think you know who these guys are – Ben Askren, B.J. Penn, Paul Daley, Hector Lombard, cowards talking crap about a guy when he’s in such a situation. They’re trying to take advantage of the situation. They’re bullies. Those are the guys I want to beat up.”
“It’s been hard on me with everything – with the UFC, with people talking crap and people not understanding the situation. It’s been very tough on me, but at the same time, I’m a strong person. I get my strength from God, so I’m able to get through it pretty well and with a pretty positive attitude. I still have a lot of opportunity, a lot of things ahead of me, and I’m very excited to get back to action.”
“I’m not putting the blame on everyone else. Everyone had their little piece of fault, but I accept my part in the blame. The fault that I had, I take responsibility for. There are a few little things that if I could go back in time and change them, I wouldn’t be in this position. There’s things I’m doing now that will prevent this from ever happening again or ever becoming an issue.
“The truth is going to come out over time. It has already started to come back. I was under suspension for literally less than three weeks, and my suspension was lifted. I didn’t get any fines. This hasn’t happened before in this sport, and it shows that I wasn’t cheating. I have hope. There are crap-talkers like B.J. Penn who want to kick a guy when he’s down, and I would love to fight that guy.”
“I was ready to fight on June 26. My levels were in range that day, and I was ready to fight. I’m ready to fight now. Right now, we’re taking offers, and we’re really looking at what makes sense and what’s going to be an exciting fight for the fans.”
