by John Morgan on Jul 13, 2011 at 12:15 pm ET Nate Marquardt is free to fight again. A little more than two weeks after the former UFC contender was pulled from the main event of UFC on Versus 4, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission has lifted Marqaurdt's suspension. PSAC Eexecutive director Gregory Sirb today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Marquardt is no longer facing any sanctions from the commission after "passing all medicals and meeting our requirements." Marquardt wasn't immediately available to comment on the matter, though his camp did release a statement to MMAjunkie.com. "Today Nate Marquardt was taken off suspension by the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission," the statement from Marquardt's camp read. "This comes less than three weeks after not being medically cleared to fight at UFC on Versus 4 in Pittsburgh and being placed on suspension. Nate is no longer restricted from fighting in any jurisdiction and is looking forward to competing in mixed martial arts again as soon as possible." The PSAC disallowed Marquardt to fight Rick Story when pre-fight blood tests revealed his testosterone levels to be outside the commission's allowable limits. The commission subsequently suspended the onetime UFC middleweight title challenger, and the UFC fired him shortly thereafter. Marquardt's camp declined to comment on their fighter's next appearance. However they remained optimistic that "The Great" will shine again on a national stage. "Nate is currently fielding a large number of offers from several MMA promotions and is excited at the wide range of options he has before him," the statement continued. "Nate is still one of the best MMA fighters in the world and will resume his career in the sport after deciding which venue is right for him. He felt very comfortable with the drop to welterweight and will most likely compete in that weight class. Nate would like to thank his sponsors, family, and friends who supported him through this difficult time." Marquardt fought three times for the UFC while using the hormone, which was prescribed by his personal doctor, including at UFC 128, where he formally applied for a therapeutic-use exemption with the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. As NJSAC legal counsel Nick Lembo later told MMAjunkie.com, Marquardt went off the therapy following UFC 128 and submitted to extra blood tests to assure he was not gaining a competitive advantage by using testosterone. However, when the final blood test he was required to take came back with hormone levels outside the commission's allowable limits – Marquardt later admitted to going back to his personal doctor to resume treatment as opposed to a NJSAC-approved endocrinologist – the commission denied his exemption and forwarded documentation of his case to the PSAC. The denial came just one day prior to the weigh-ins for UFC on Versus 4, which took place June 26 at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh. Representatives for Marquardt said the fighter submitted multiple blood tests the week of the event and that his testosterone levels were trending down – to the point where he would have been within the acceptable limits on fight day. The PSAC, however, set a cutoff point, and he didn't make it.
Not that I really care, but it's pretty fucked that Marquardt actually went through the proper steps to get his HRT cleared, and when he wasn't allowed to fight because of elevated levels, they fire him. Then you have Sonnen, who never got clearance from anybody to get HRT, he does it anyway, goes through with the fight and then gets busted for elevated levels. Nothing happens to Sonnen. I don't agree with HRT being allowed in combat sports period, but if they are going to allow it, how are you going to fire the guy who tries to do it by the book? Nate didn't fight anyone with elevated testosterone levels, which is performance enhancing. Sonnen did. That is fucked.
I think it just boils down to Sonnen being a popular figure these days and Nate isn't really much of a fan favorite.
Yeah but why fire him? I dont know, it just seems strange. We will see if they hire him back. If not, something else was the issue.
The most important thing is that Nate is now available for Bellator to sign up for their next welterweight tournament where he will walk thru everyone until facing their champ Ben Askren. Askren will take him down repeatedly like Sonnen did. Askren will control him like a pimp controlling a 16 year old chicken head and win an easy 5 round UD. And when it's all said and done, Marquardt will make about $150K total which will hardly be enough to cover his doctor-ordered HRT. So, he should just retire right now.
Nate will always have a job in the music business <iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XFtQML2O5B0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
