Marquardt Heavy Favorite Over Sonnen at UFC 109

Sports News - January 24th, 2010 - Written By Bryan

UFC 109 will host an array of top fighters and match ups throughout the night, and the bout between Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen is no exception. Marquardt has been the victor in four of his last five fights, and looks to continue his streak of success on Saturday, February 6th in Las Vegas. On the other side, Sonnen looks to move a step closer to an eventual title fight. A win over Marquardt would go a long way in cementing that shot.

Marquardt sports an 8-2 record in UFC matches, and an overall MMA record of 32-8-2. His most recent fight came at UFC 102 back in August, in which he defeated Demian Maia by knock out just 21 seconds into the fight. His only two UFC losses came against Thales Leites and Anderson Silva.

The 6' 0" 185 pound fighter has a very powerful and impressive ground game. This gives him an advantage over Sonnen in this match up, should the bout get to the ground. Marquardt is a very solid ground fighter from on his back and could submit Sonnen.

Marquardt is a three-time Champion of the middleweight division in the Pancrase Champion, and possesses a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu. Nearly half of his MMA wins have come by submission.

On the other side of the ring, Sonnen was a former college National Champion wrestler, All-American, and was even an alternate on the United States Olympic wrestling team. Despite his impressive wrestling credentials, Sonnen would would still be better served keeping the fight from the ground as long as possible. Marquadt would nullify any attempt that Sonnen tries to submit.

Sonnen has the advantage in striking, and would hold the upper hand in the fight if he is able to execute a game plan that keeps the fight to a striking battle. His last few losses have come by way of submission, and Sonnen will be weary of that. Sonnen won his last outing against Yushin Okami.

Both of these fighters are nearing a title shot against current holder Anderson Silva and a win will move them one step closer.

This middleweight clash on paper seems to be relatively even, but sports books such as Bodog are favoring Marquadt heavily. Currently, Marquadt is installed as a -525 favorite to defeat Sonnen according to the MMA Betting lines at Bodog sports book. Sonnen assumes the underdog role, and is currently set at +325 in this match up.

The fight can be seen live on Saturday, February 6th from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Ls Vegas. It. will be broadcast on Pay-Per-View.