Nate Marquardt and I have something in common. We both believed he won his fight against Yushin Okami this past Saturday or, more importantly, that he was winning going into the final round. In the 1st round, it was Marquardt who attempted submissions: two guillotines and a heel hook. Okami landed some take downs and did very little damage, and Marquardt got a very nice knee at the tale end of the round in addition to utilizing very solid defense. The second round was all Marquardt, and whoever scored the bout 30-27 needs to open up them eyes. Marquardt landed two solid knees and a takedown, Marquardt utilized stellar takedown defense, and although Okami landed a few punches, Marquardt was getting the better of these exchanges. It was only in the final round that Okami landed the better of the exchanges, getting some punches in. Marquardt’s takedown and few knees to the midsection did not win him the round. I scored the bout 29-28 Marquardt, and although I was disappointed when Okami won, I think it could have gone either way.
What I didn’t agree with was Dana White calling Nate Marquardt a choker, and blaming it on his camp for not finishing fights, and blaming it on his corners for telling him he was ahead. Before addressing each of these points individually, I’d like to point out that Dana White’s background is as an aerobics instructor and, of course, a promoter. As much as he is revered by many and has a solid fan base, it’s unclear whether he has even competed in anything. White’s motive is building the business and making money, which is as it should be, but kind of taints his analysis a bit.
Losing a round or losing a fight is not the same as choking. Although Marquardt may not have unleashed or put together combinations as well as he could have, this is something quite common that happens to almost every fighter at some point in time, and to at least one fighter in almost every fight. We’re taking world-class competitors who are very evenly matched and putting them in a cage together. It’s a lot easier to look good in a fight if one guy is significantly better than the other, and that has nothing to do with choking. It has to do with skill level.
Next, let’s address the issue of Greg Jackson’s camp by looking at some recent fights from that camp. Hmm, let’s see, I seem to remember lots of praise for Diego Sanchez lately. Donald Cerrone sure didn’t look half bad in his bout against Jamie Varner. And let’s not forget Carlos Condit’s 1st round knockout of Dan Hardy. Pretty impressive coming from a camp that supposedly never finishes fights. Maybe Marquardt shouldn’t have let it go to the judges, and has some minor refinements he needs to make in his game. Or maybe, as the judges believed, Okami fought a better fight. But Marquardt losing because of his corner seems to be a bit of a stretch.
Lastly, let’s address White’s last jab at Marquardt’s camp. He said that Nate choked because his corner told him he was ahead. Let’s look at some analysis on choking. There’s a very detailed article on this by Malcolm Gladwell. He points out that chokers lose their instincts and are far more deliberate than they need to be, relying on rudimentary technique pointers they should have outgrown. My question is this: are you more likely to do this if you think you’re ahead in a fight, or are you more likely to do this if you think you are losing?
It’s not a clear-cut question and it’s not easy to determine whether someone is playing a safe game because they think they’re ahead or are simply losing a round because their opponent has gotten their timing down. But I think reverting to analysis rather than letting instinct go is more likely to happen if one is behind and knows it. Dana White’s analysis seems a bit off. He had similar criticism for Kenny Florian this past August. Florian denied these claims, stating that Gray Maynard was simply a better wrestler and adding that White’s comment doesn’t make sense when you look at the big picture. “You have to look at the technical fight game, and I’m not sure Dana does that all the time,” Florian said.
The bigger picture Dana White is looking at is financial–he wants finishes because they attract fans, sell pay-per-views and help build the brand. Picking on individual fighters, though, doesn’t seem to be the most effective strategy. With few exceptions, fighters will always be strategic in their approach. If White really wants to change the way the game is played, perhaps switching to a Pride scoring system would be more effective than publicly criticizing some of his best fighters.
Yael Grauer is a regular contributor at MMA HQ. Get 15% off mma body shields at Elite MMA. Just enter the coupon code shield1 at checkout.
