Nate Marquardt and Yushin Okami will take center stage of the Octagon on Saturday November 13th in Oberhausen Germany as the featured fighters in the UFC 122 odds action.
Both of these men have seen plenty of MMA action and have fought numerous UFC engagements. But next Saturday’s bout at the UFC 122 betting event could be the most important fighting engagement of either man’s career. That these two fighters are featured in the headline fight of a UFC Main Event is a bit of nice surprise for both of these fighters who have otherwise been forgotten by my people in the sport.
With a career record of 30-9-2 Marquardt has been a testament to durability. Not many fighters reach the 40 fight mark in their career and the fact that the Wyoming native, Marquardt, has reached that fighting milestone by the age of 31 says a lot about his toughness and durability. His career record of 30-9-2 is better than most fighters but it’s still not quite good enough to separate himself from the rest of the weight class and earn “elite” status in the UFC.
His UFC 122 odds opponent, Yushin Okami, is another seasoned vet of MMA action and at 29 years of age has 30 career MMA fights under his belt. His record of 25-5 is impressive but there he lacks any big wins over an established fighter in the UFC. Indeed, the biggest name he’s fought since signing with the UFC is likely Chael Sonnen, who defeated Okami quite easily and why by unanimous decision in October of last year.
Neither one of these fighters is going into the UFC Hall of Fame and so for them to have a shot at the title at this stage in their career and headlining the UFC 122 odds action is likely more than either would have thought possible.
In terms of matching up, Marquardt has faced the toughest competition in his career and he has wins over better opponents. Okami has improved his striking and other facets of this fighting, but Marquardt has the edge in toughness and stamina.
Expect this fight to go the distance and for Marquardt to prevail in this UFC 122 betting matchup.