Ben Askren Calls Nate Marquardt ‘Cheater’ Vows to Crush Him in Bellator

Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren wasted no time in calling out fired UFC fighter Nate Marquardt today. Askren tweeted shortly after Marquardt admitted that…

By: Nate Wilcox | 12 years ago
Ben Askren Calls Nate Marquardt ‘Cheater’ Vows to Crush Him in Bellator
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren wasted no time in calling out fired UFC fighter Nate Marquardt today. Askren tweeted shortly after Marquardt admitted that issues with his use of Testosterone Replacement Therepy caused his failure to be cleared to fight for UFC on Versus 4.

Here’s Askren’s tweet:

@nathanmarquardt you are a cheater, not once but frequently. Stop cheating, come to bellator and I will crush you. @bjornrebneyless than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhone Favorite Retweet Reply

 

Some will no doubt view this crass opportunism in a negative light, but it’s genius fight promotion on Askren’s part. Marquardt is the big story in MMA currently and was scheduled to make his welterweight debut in the UFC on Saturday. Now that UFC President Dana White has cut Marquardt, Nate the Great is suddenly by far the highest profile free agent in the division. 

It’s no secret that Bellator has a hard time finding quality, high profile opponents for its champions. Marquardt, should he sort out his licensing issues, would be both high quality and high profile. In fact, Askren — an Olympic wrestler with a developing MMA game — could very well be biting off more than he can chew in challenging Marquardt. 

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About the author
Nate Wilcox
Nate Wilcox

Nate Wilcox is the founding editor of BloodyElbow.com. As such he has hired every editor and writer to work for the site. Wilcox’s writing for BE is known for its emphasis on MMA history, the evolution of fighting techniques and strong opinions. Wilcox developed the SBN MMA consensus rankings which were featured in USA Today from 2009 to 2011. Before founding BE, Wilcox was a political operative working for such figures as Senators John Kerry and Mark Warner and an early political blogger. He is the co-author of Netroots Rising, a history of the political blogosphere from 2003 to 2007. Wilcox also hosts the Let It Roll podcast on music history for the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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