Nate Marquardt: There shouldn't be any problems on June 26th (Exclusive Interview)

Fans of Mixed Martial Arts know the name Nate "The Great" Marquardt. If you’ve been watching the UFC from 2005 to present, you are very familiar with him, and he has been a staple with the promotion for a long time. But before he joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship and despite not holding UFC gold, Nate Marquardt is one of the most accomplished fighters to ever step into a ring or cage. Having fought the likes of Yves Edwards, Genki Sudo, Shonie Carter, Ricardo Almeida, he is the only fighter in our sport’s history to hold the prestigious title of King of Pancrase for a record seven times. Marquardt was one of the best Mixed Martial Artists on the planet way before he even stepped into the Octagon for the first time in his career. "The Great" also holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and as well as in the traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu.

Today he is considered a top five Middleweight in our sport by the fans, many well-known sites (including ours), and publications.

Twelve years into his MMA career, Nate and his team decided to start a new chapter in his quest for gold. Nate Marquardt will be making his UFC Welterweight debut against Rick "The Horror" Story on June 26^th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Nate took some time out of his busy training schedule to speak to the Lowkick.com nation. He may not be a man of many words, but this Saturday he’ll let his fighting do the talking.

Special thanks to Kelly Crigger from Alchemist for helping set up this interview!

Anthony Johnson had to pull out of your June 26^th fight and now you’re fighting Rick Story. What sort of adjustments did you have to make to your game plan to prepare for this bout?
Well they are two totally different fighters, but honestly we are keeping the game plan basic and very simple. We just changed a couple things. But again, my main goal is just to keep the gameplan basic and simple. There shouldn’t be any problems on June 26th.

This will be your very first fight in the welterweight division, what kind of changes did you have to make to your diet, and how do you feel physically?
Physically, I feel great. A lot of people say this, but honestly I really feel the best I’ve felt in a long time. A big part of that is my weight. For years I’ve been trying to keep the weight on and bulk up to fight at 185. During my last fight I stayed low, felt excellent, and it’s a big reason why I decided to move down to 170.

You’ve been in the Mixed Martial Arts game for over twelve years now, how many fights do you feel like you have left in your tank, and if you get into the Welterweight title picture would you ever consider facing your teammate GSP? 
As far as how many fights I have left, I feel great right now and retirement is something I haven’t even considered. I’ll continue to fight as long as I feel healthy and continue performing well. As far as fighting Georges, he actually brought up the idea to me to drop down to welterweight. I guess it’s something we’ll have to talk about when the situation arises. At this point I’m just going to fight my way to the top and not worry about that right now.

Now you’ve fought all over the world and faced some of the best fighters in this sport. If you had a chance to fight anybody, anybody at all, they can be a professional fighter, fictional character, historical figure, who would you fight and why?
Ummmm….It can be anybody?

It can be anybody; they don’t have to be in the UFC, they don’t even have to be an MMA fighter, it can be anyone you can think of.
I’d probably fight Hitler that would be a lot of fun. (Laughs)

Let’s play a quick game of “word association”.  I will mention a name and in one word you tell me what comes to mind:

MC Hammer (Nate’s manager) – 2 Legit

Pancrase – Japan

Shane Carwin (teammate) – Monster

Anderson Silva – Skilled

Greg Jackson (coach) – Captain

Thanks for taking the time to do this interview Nate; I wish you all the best in your upcoming bout. Would you like to make any shoutouts before we close off?
Go visit natemarquardt.com and follow me on Twitter @nathanmarquardt!

We would like to remind our users that UFC on Versus 4 picks contest is still one! All you have to do is to submit your picks on Alchemist MMA page on Facebook to win a FREE *SIGNED* Nate Marquardt walkout T-Shirt for this weekend's event!

Oh, and there's also a chance to win a training day with Nate Marquardt!