Many were shocked by Chael Sonnen’s performance against Anderson Silva in their UFC 117 middleweight title bout on Aug. 7. Nate Marquardt wasn’t one of them.

Marquardt fell victim to Sonnen’s style at UFC 109 in February and knew the Team Quest trained Sonnen could do the same to Silva.

“I thought it was a real exciting fight. I think Chael did a great job. I thought Anderson’s footwork would be a little bit better at avoiding the takedowns, but once he got on top I knew he’d be able to pretty much dominate,” Marquardt told MMAWeekly.com.

“I thought that if Chael was able to close that distance that he would be able to take him down and pretty much dominate him on the ground as far as positioning and punching, but to do it for five rounds is a pretty tough thing to do. He was able to do it, but he did get caught in the end.”

Marquardt, who has been in there with both Silva and Sonnen felt the match-up could play out exactly as it did, all the way down to the triangle choke submission win by Silva.

“It’s exactly what I said, that he’s susceptible to the triangle,” commented the middleweight contender. “He kept letting Anderson hold his wrists and he was able to escape the first couple of times. In the first couple of rounds I think he had that more explosive energy and Anderson slapped it on hard in that last round. It was a great fight.”

Not surprised by the takedowns, the ground and pound, or the submission finish, Marquardt didn’t predict Sonnen’s success striking with Silva, but who did?

“That definitely was not expected,” said Marquardt. “I think he knocked him down like three times in the fight. That was crazy. The first one was in the first round and the second one was right after it, I think probably because of the first one. In the fifth round I couldn’t tell if it was a slip or a knockdown, but it was very surprising.”

Marquardt takes on Rousimar Palhares at UFC Fight Night 22 on Sept. 15 in Austin, Texas, hoping to rebound from the loss to Sonnen and begin a path back to title contention.

Bellator Fighting Championships continues to add to its roster, signing UFC veteran Alvin Robinson to face Bellator standout Georgi Karakhanyan. The two will meet in a featherweight feature bout at Bellator 28 on Sept. 9 in New Orleans.

Sources close to the bout on Wednesday confirmed the signing to MMAWeekly.com.

Karakhanyan (13-2-1) is one of Bellator’s top featherweights. He was derailed in the Season 2 by eventual featherweight tournament winner Joe Warren. That loss came after winning nine straight fights, capped by a victory over veteran fighter Bao Quach in his Bellator debut.

Robinson (11-5) was a top prospect when he entered the Octagon with a professional record of 8-1. He had a difficult time assimilating, however, garnering a record of 1-3 in the UFC. The Gracie jiu-jitsu black belt has since dropped down to featherweight where he is currently 2-1.

Bellator 28 takes place on Sept. 9 at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in New Orleans.

Worlds Collide “The best fight card in Colorado History” – Fight Card” article, I wrote, “With fighters in 9 of the 14 bouts coming out of the Grudge Training Center…hopefully they do not disappoint.”Disappoint they did not. In fact, 8 of the 9 fighters hailing from the GTC found victory on Saturday night. Along with their victories, fighters from the GTC also defended and claimed a few title belts including Jason Lee earning the Amateur Middleweight Championship, Justin Salas retaining his Pro Lightweight Championship, and Alvin Robinson claiming the Pro Featherweight Championship. Overall, Fight to Win and the King of Champions promotions put on a fantastic show. The card was great, all of the fighters performed well, and the new cage lighting was an outstanding upgrade! Below is a recap of the professional portion of the card;

Jason Lee took on the undefeated Jason Clayton for the Fight to Win Amateur Middleweight Title. The fight was a 3 round war and the only fight on the amateur portion of the card to go the distance. The fight began with Lee and Clayton circling one another until the finally clinched and began trading knees. Clayton initiated a takedown but failed to bring Lee to the mat; instead the two clinched up against the fence and again began to trade knees until Lee was struck with a low blow. When the action resumed, Lee and Clayton each tested their striking range; the round ended with the fighters clinched against the fence.
In round 2, Lee took Clayton to the mat and remained in side control for a good portion of the round. Clayton turned, exposing his back, but Lee remained on his side and continued to pound away. Near the end of the round, Clayton made his way back to his feet and pushed Lee up against the cage, holding him there until the rounds end.
In round 3, Clayton attempted to take Lee down but his takedown was only semi-successful. The fight went to the mat, but Lee found himself in the dominant position; he was again controlling Clayton from the side and striking at will. Clayton again worked his way up to his feet and clinched with Lee but was unable to do any significant damage. Lee was bleeding from a cut above his eye but that didn’t seem to affect him. With seconds to go in the round, Clayton managed to take Lee down. Lee locked Clayton up in his guard and seemed content to neutralize Clayton’s attack until the final bell.
Winner: Jason Lee via unanimous decision.

Matt Mazurek taking on Josh Ford also ended in a submission. Mazurek attempted to land some early strikes but Ford shot in and took Mazurek down. On the mat, Ford transitioned from half guard to side control, eventually taking Mazurek’s back. With control of Mazurek’s back, Ford looked to sink in a rear-naked-choke. With the choke applied, Ford flattened Mazurek out and squeezed until he tapped.
Winner: Josh Ford via submission (choke) at 2:55 of round 1.

John Leal and Lowrant-T Nelson clinched early on and began trading knees. Nelson took Leal to the mat and immediately looked to finish the fight. Nelson locked in a Kimura arm lock from side control and cranked until Leal submitted making this the shortest bout of the evening.
Winner: Lowrant-T Nelson via submission (arm lock) at 0:46 of round 1.

Joe Gutierrez and James Strater-Smithclinched at the beginning of round 1 and traded knees and short strikes until the bell. In round 2, the fight went to the ground where Strater-Smith found himself in side control. The two scrambled for position on the mat until Strater-Smith gained back control over Gutierrez. Strater-Smith was able to sink in a rear-naked-choke which forced Gutierrez to tap.
Winner: James Strater-Smith via submission (choke) at 2:37 of round 2.

The opening fight of the evening showcased Garrett Culpepper facing off against Alonso Garcia. The much taller Culpepper came out keeping his distance and throwing kicks from both sides. Garcia was able to move in and got a takedown but Culpepper managed to return to his feet. Culpepper again looked to keep his distance and began to throw more kicks. Garcia was hit with a low blow that temporarily put a stop to the action. When the fight resumed, Culpepper was able to back Garcia up against the cage and began to land a series of heavy blows. The referee jumped in and called a stop to the bout.
Winner: Garret Culpepper via TKO at 2:19 of round 1.

The main event of the evening featured, UFC veteran, Alvin Robinson taking onJesse Henley for the Pro Featherweight Title. Robinson brought Henley to the mat and was able to mount him early on. When Robinson lost the mount position, he rolled and transitioned to apply a guillotine choke to Henley; the choke looked deep but Henley did not submit. Unable to finish Henley off with the guillotine, Robinson let go and was able to once again mount Henley. From the mount, Robinson pounded down on Henley with multiple strikes. Henley rolled and gave up his back; when this happened, Robinson sunk in a rear-naked-choke that finished Henley off.
Winner: Alvin Robinson via submission (choke) at 1:38 of round 1

The fight for the Pro Lightweight Title pinned champion Justin Salas up against Matt Simms. From the opening bell, it was obvious that Simms would have preferred to have a ground fight instead of the stand up war that Salas intended on having. Each fighter threw strikes but after absorbing a few shots, Simms went to the ground hoping to have Salas come into his guard. For the most part, Salas refused and instead threw strikes toward Simms from a standing position. Simms nearly landed with a few up-kicks but Salas was able to avoid taking any heavy damage.
In the second round, the fighters clinched and traded knees along with some short punches. Simms went back to the mat again hoping for Salas to follow into his guard. Salas again played it safe and landed strikes from his feet instead. The fight returned to the feet and each fighter attacked with strikes; Salas hit Simms with a shot that stunned him. Simms went back to the mat and this time Salas followed. Salas continued to pound away on a turtled up Simms until the referee ended the fight.
Winner: Justin Salas by TKO at 2:14 of round 2.