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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
In June of 2011, longtime UFC veteran Nate Marquardt was kicked out of the UFC after being taken out of the UFC on Versus 4 event the day of weigh-ins. He was set to headline that card against Rick Story in what would have been his welterweight debut, but he was pulled when his testosterone levels were not within acceptable range for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission.
Marquardt revealed after the event that he had been undergoing the controversial testosterone replacement therapy treatment, but an exemption for said treatment requires a fighter to have their levels within a certain range. Marquardt's was too high as they got close to the event, and so he was pulled, and a furious Dana White declared that he'd never be back.
Fast forward two years, and you'll see Marquardt in the Octagon once again.
After his release from the UFC, Marquardt signed with British MMA organization BAMMA, but when he didn't get a fight booking he was granted a release. That led him to the Zuffa-owned Strikeforce, where he captured the Strikeforce Welterweight Championship in his debut with an incredible knockout over Tyron Woodley.
With that performance, and with time healing all wounds with the UFC, Marquardt will be back inside the Octagon after making one more appearance in Strikeforce this January. Marquardt will headline the final Strikeforce event on January 12 when he takes on Tarec Saffiedine, and on Saturday night after UFC 155, White revealed that Marquardt will be welcomed back into the UFC, win or lose.
"I was never in a bad way with him," White said Saturday night (transcribed by MMAJunkie.com). "I like Nate Marquardt. He's one of the nicest guys ever. But you know how I get. I get bummed out when guys do stuff like that. You're a professional. Show up here and do what you're supposed to do."
That will bring him back to the place he called home for nearly six years, and where he once competed for a championship. He'll now try to make a run at a different title when he's able to return next year.
Penick's Analysis: White's always been a Marquardt fan, and I think that's part of the reason he came down as hard as he did on him last year. But it was very hypocritical of him at the time to condemn Marquardt as publicly as he did when he was actively trying to be an advocate for Chael Sonnen, so that public shaming never sat right. What Marquardt did was wrong and shady, but didn't warrant a lifetime ban from the UFC. So it will be good to see him back, and if he takes care of business against Tarec Saffiedine, he's going to be one hell of a contender in the 170 lb. division come mid-2013.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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