Nate Marquardt plans to return to action next year.
Nate “The Great” last competed inside the Octagon back in Nov. 2017. He dropped a split decision to Cezar Ferreira back in Nov. 2017. It was Marquardt’s third loss in a row and he announced his retirement the following month.
Nate Marquardt Eyeing 2020 Return To MMA
Marquardt has been hard at work in the gym with UFC fighter Ian Heinisch. Speaking to theScoreMMA’s James Lynch, Heinisch claimed that “The Great” was planning a comeback. When MMAJunkie.com caught up with Marquardt, he confirmed this to be true.
“Yeah, that’s true, I’m going to be making a comeback,” Marquardt said. “I’ve known it for a while now, but I haven’t made it public. I’ve just been training, going to seminary, staying in shape, and helping guys like Ian (Heinisch) and stuff like that.”
Marquardt went on to explain how he came to a decision to return to MMA competition.
“Well it’s kind of a crazy story, man, but I had a dream.” Marquardt said. “God spoke to me, and he confirmed it later in the week by two people I’ve never met before and one friend, as well, that basically I’d be fighting again.
“That was it, man. After I retired, I didn’t train for like two months, and I actually started feeling really bad physically. I was like, ‘Oh man, I need to get back in the gym,’ so I started lifting weights, running, sparring and grappling a little bit, and then I had the dream. So basically, when I retired, I thought that that was it, but I haven’t stopped training. I love mixed martial arts. I love doing it. I love competing, but I really didn’t have a huge desire to compete in it. I was just going to train and maybe teach and stuff like that.”
Marquardt is no longer under UFC contract, so he will be a free agent upon his return. Marquardt went on to say that he’s had talks with Bellator but nothing is set in stone.
