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CURITIBA, Brazil – Nate Marquardt entered the octagon at UFC 198 with hopes of his first two-fight winning streak since 2012. Thiago “Marreta” Santos used his fists to end that dream, knocking out Marquardt in the first round.
The middleweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC 198 event at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on pay-per-view.
Santos (13-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) opened the fight with a heavy leg kick followed by a head kick that moved Marquardt (34-16-2 MMA, 12-9 UFC) backward despite being blocked. Marquardt began mixing in his own kicks in return but remained in Santos’ preferred range.
Staying in that range left Marquardt open for a big hook from Santos that dropped him to his back. Marquardt was able to work back to his feet quickly, however, and connected with an elbow as they broke the clinch.
Moments later, Santos unloaded with heavy shots and Marquardt dropped after a heavy left hand, bringing the fight to an end at the 3:39 mark of Round 1.
“I felt great,” Santos said. “I wanted to beat Nate very much so I can go after bigger challenges. Thank God I could win. I hope I can face a highly ranked opponent in my next fight.”
Santos is now riding a four-fight winning streak with three of those victories coming by stoppage. Marquardt has lost four of his seven most recent fights by knockout.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 198 results include:
- Thiago “Marreta” Santos def. Nate Marquardt via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:39
- Francisco Trinaldo def. Yancy Medeiros via unanimous decision (29-26, 30-27, 30-26)
- John Lineker def. Rob Font via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-26)
- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Patrick Cummins via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:42
- Luan Chagas vs. Sergio Moraes declared split draw (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)
- Renato Moicano def. Zubaira Tukhugov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
For complete coverage of UFC 198, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan, Mike Bohn and Fernanda Prates contributed to this report on site in Brazil.)
