On Saturday June 28, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will make its debut on New Zealand shores with UFC Fight Night: Jason Te Huna versus Nate Marquardt, at the Vector Arena in Auckland.
The card will mark Te Huna’s debut in the middleweight division. Marquardt is returning to middleweight after a stint at welterweight.
With both fighters at a crossroads in their careers, this match-up will present an opportunity to make a big impact in the middleweight division.
Striking
Both combatants are known gunslingers inside the octagon. What they lack in technical striking, they make up for with power shots that have resulted in spectacular knockouts.
Both are also coming off knockout losses – Te Huna was dropped by ‘Shogun’ Rua last year in Brisbane, while Marquardt succumbed to Hector Lombard at UFC 166.
Aside from the loss to Shogun, a well-timed and executed shot that would have knocked out a heavyweight, Te Huna’s chin has held up against some heavy hitters in the light-heavyweight division. Marquardt meanwhile has shown to be shaky when caught, even against naturally smaller fighters.
In a matter of who falls first, Te Huna’s track record shows that he’ll likely be the one left standing.
Advantage: Te Huna
Submissions
Marquardt is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt with 15 submission wins to his name, including one over veteran grappler Jeremy Horn. Five of Te Huna’s seven losses have come by submission. Against Glover Teixera, his hands-up boxing mentality led to an easy takedown and guillotine choke. Not much to say here.
Advantage: Marquardt
Wrestling
Neither man is particularly known for their wrestling prowess. Marquardt has shown trouble against decorated but smaller wrestlers like Tyron Woodley. Te Huna doesn’t possess the wrestling pedigree of Woodley, but his size advantage may be the biggest factor here.
Advantage: even/slight advantage to Te Huna
Other factors
This will be Marquardt’s first fistic sojourn outside of North America since 2010, when he lost to Yushin Okami in Germany. While the former King of Pancrase once travelled to Japan for most of his fights, it will be interesting to see how the current post-TRT Marquardt will deal being on his opponent’s home turf.
Te Huna has a lot to prove after his loss to Shogun, especially in front of his home crowd. While this adds additional pressure to the situation, a decidedly pro-Te Huna crowd could be a big advantage.
Beyond the middleweight rankings, both fighters will be vying for their spot in the UFC by ending their losing streaks. It could very well be a loser goes home match.
Prediction: Te Huna via TKO in Round 2.
Let’s get ready to rumble! Pick a fighter and place your bets with PlayUp for great odds. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Nikita Tszyu defended his Australian super welterweight crown. But a fightback from opponent Danilo Creati threatened to spoil everything in the sixth round.
Nikita Tszyu has overcome a nasty mid-fight moment to score a unanimous points win over Danilo Creati and retain his Australian super welterweight title…
A bloodied Tim Tszyu has been cruelly denied in his quest to emulate his legendary father Kostya and become a unified world boxing champion…
Liam Wilson has suffered further heartbreak in Arizona, the Australian boxer losing his super-featherweight world-title fight against Mexican Oscar Valdez. In front of a…
Tim Tszyu has the chance to emulate his legendary father as a unified world boxing champion after the stakes were dramatically raised for his…
Australia's Alexander Volkanovski has lost his UFC featherweight title to Ilia Topuria, with the Spaniard scoring a stunning second round knockout in the main…
