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Nate Marquardt granted release from BAMMA, once again a free agent
Jan 13, 2012 - 2:30:49 PM Nate Marquardt granted release from BAMMA, once again a free agent

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Nate Marquardt's run with British MMA organization BAMMA has come to an end before it began, as MMAFighting.com reports that he has been granted a release from his contract prior to stepping foot in the cage.

Marquardt was initially targeted for a December fight at BAMMA 8, but was ultimately not booked for the event. He was then scheduled to meet Yoshiyuki Yoshida at BAMMA 9 in February, but then the event was delayed until March. With his debut being pushed back yet again, Marquardt requested, and was granted, his release.

"Nate is disappointed that he has not been able to fight for BAMMA and the UK fans," Marquardt's manager, Lex McMahon, said. "However, given the situation that BAMMA removed him as the headliner from BAMMA 8 and have elected to reschedule BAMMA 9 to March 24, 2012 all parties concerned feel that it is in Nate's best interest to explore other options at this stage. Nate is one of the best fighters in the world and looks forward to fighting the best competition possible. Both Nate and I wish BAMMA all the best in their future endeavors."

BAMMA CEO David Green released a statement regarding the split, and had nothing but kind things to say about working with Marquardt and his team.

"The decision to move the BAMMA 9 event to March 24, 2012, was taken in the interests of the BAMMA promotion as a whole and we believe that this will result in the strongest BAMMA event to date," the statement read. "It is important to note that the decision to remove Nate from the BAMMA 8 card and to reschedule BAMMA 9 in no way is a result of any actions taken by him. Nate was originally to feature on the BAMMA 8 card in December and with this current date change it is only fair for us at this stage to honor Nate's contract agreement and allow him to look for fights outside of the BAMMA promotion."

"I cannot speak highly enough of the professional manner in which Nate Marquardt and his team have conducted themselves. They have been an absolute pleasure to work with and we are just disappointed that we have not been able to work out a way to seeing Nate take his place on the BAMMA 9 card."

Marquardt is now once again a free agent, and they'll look at several possibilities to get him back into the cage.

Penick's Analysis: It's not likely that Marquardt gets a call back from the UFC, but stranger things have happened. I'm not sure where he's going to go at this point, especially with Zuffa owning the UFC and Strikeforce, but wherever it is he'll be one of the top fighters in his division. There aren't many upper-tier middleweight or welterweights outside of the UFC and Strikeforce, so regardless Marquardt isn't going to find much in the way of challengers away from there.