Dana White Willing To Reconsider Nate Marquardt, Not Ready To Reconsider Anthony Johnson

UFC president Dana White told reporters at the UFC on Fox 2 post-press conference media scrum that he is not ready to reconsider Anthony…

By: Nate Wilcox | 12 years ago
Dana White Willing To Reconsider Nate Marquardt, Not Ready To Reconsider Anthony Johnson
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

UFC president Dana White told reporters at the UFC on Fox 2 post-press conference media scrum that he is not ready to reconsider Anthony Johnson in the UFC or Strikeforce but he appeared to be slightly more open to a return by Nate Marquardt.

MMA Fighting got White’s statements:

(Johnson) needs to go fight somewhere else, get some wins, come in on weight,” White said of Johnson. “He needs to prove to me that he can be a professional, show up on weight and do the things he needs to do. If he does, we can talk.”

When asked about Marquardt, however, White sounded open to the possibility that he could re-sign with the UFC. … White was furious at the time, but several months later he sounds willing to forgive and forget.

“I don’t dislike Nate,” White said. “I like Nate very much. We’ll see what happens.”

Johnson was fired from the UFC after missing weight by 11 pounds at his UFC 142 co-main event bout against Vitor Belfort. Ironically that was Johnson’s first fight at middleweight after struggling to make the 170lb welterweight limit in several previous fights. It was the third time Johnson missed weight for a UFC bout.

Marquardt was fired from the organization right before a scheduled UFC on Versus 4 bout against Rick Story due to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission refusing to license him for the fight. The PSAC’s actions stemmed from Marquardt failing a blood test commissioned by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission who were following up on Marquardt’s previous bout against Dan Miller at UFC 128. Marquardt had been allowed to use Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) before that bout and the commission was following up to monitor his hormone levels.

Ironically Johnson and Marquardt were originally scheduled to meet at UFC on Versus 4 but Johnson had to drop out due to injuries. Marquardt signed with the UK’s Bamma promotion but they were unable to put a fight together for him and he has been released from his contract.

Share this story

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.

More from the author

Bloody Elbow Podcast
Related Stories