Marquardt: I don’t care if my opponent is on steroids
Nate Marquardt was one fight away from receiving a shot at the middleweight title back in February when Sonnen defeated…
Nate Marquardt was one fight away from receiving a shot at the middleweight title back in February when Sonnen defeated him by unanimous decision at UFC 109. The result of that fight catapulted Sonnen into a title fight against Anderson Silva on Aug. 7, where he lost via submission before failing his post-fight drug test.
The controversy has sparked much speculation into how long Sonnen may have been using performance-enhancing drugs — speculation, however, that Marquardt has chosen to ignore.
“My thinking is, it doesn’t matter if the guy I’m fighting is on steroids. I don’t care about that. I should be able to beat him either way. I feel like I can fight someone on steroids and still have them at a disadvantage.
“If you’re a true athlete, the best way is to be natural. Anything you get from steroids you’re trading off somewhere else, whether it’s your cardio or longevity in the sport. You need all those things.”
“Honestly, I really don’t know what to think. I don’t know the facts. Either way, he’s a tough guy and he’s going to be back before long.”
“When I fought Chael, I had been on a tear. I pretty much had beat the crap out of everyone I fought since losing to Silva (in 2007.)”
“I wouldn’t say I was overconfident, but I possibly lost a little bit of the fire that I have to be the champion.”
“To say that (Sonnen showed a blueprint for beating Silva) is really silly, in my opinion, because he lost. Even though he beat the crap out of Anderson for four rounds he ended up losing and that’s party because of the way he was fighting.”
“Some of the same things he was doing that created openings for him to do damage and hold him down are the same things that put him in trouble of getting caught. I have my own game plan.”
