Brad Tavares was able to utilize solid striking fundamentals tonight at UFC 182 to get the better of Nate Marquardt over the course of three rounds of fighting.
Round One:
Tavares pumping out the jab to start this one. He looks for a one-two, but Marquardt backs up. Leg kick from Tavares. Marquardt tries a high kick, but comes up short.
Marquardt looks to clinch, but Tavares throws strikes and so Marquardt backs off. Leg kick for Marquardt now.
Body kick for Tavares. Leg kick again from Marquardt. Looks for another one, but not as good a connection this time. Then Tavares presses forward with punches then connects with a hard leg kick.
Marquardt barrels forward with a right hand, but Tavares counters him with a punch on the way in.
Tavares closes distance and unleashes a brief flurry of punches. Front kick to the face connects for Marquardt, but Tavares is ok. Tavares lands a right hand. He gets a leg kick in there too.
Jabs come up short for Tavares, but a right hand behind it scores. Another leg kick from marquardt and a teep to the body. Tavares with a head kick attempt that’s blocked.
Tavares with a leg kick and one in response from his opponent. Tavares staying the busier of the two in the final seconds of the round and lands a front kick to the face of his own just as the horn sounds.
Round Two:
Another cautious start to the second round. Marquardt partially eats a kick as he catches it and looks to use it to get Tavares down, but they are back up quickly.
Marquardt barrels forward with punches looking to set up the clinch, but they soon break apart again. Leg kick for Marquardt and soon after a few punches land. Tavares with a hard leg kick of his own and another.
Crowd getting restless as they wait to engage. Turning out to be a bit of a leg kick battle right now and you can see clear damage to Marquardt’s lead leg from the shots he’s taken so far.
Marquardt with a big takedown attempt, but Tavares uses the momoentum to momentarily get him down instead. Marquardt remains clinched and tries to trip him back down to the mat. Tavares shows good balance to stay upright though. Marquardt working hard again for a takedown, but even on one leg Tavares is able to both defend and lands a few punches.
They separate and Tavares peppering Marquardt with the jab as the round comes to a close.
Round Three:
Leg kick from Tavares to start the final round. Marquardt clinches and looks for a takedown. Tavares stays up but eats a knee in the process. Marquardt remains in the clinch and the action is stalling a bit. They trade a couple of knees and Marquardt lands a digging punch to the body before they are separated.
Tavares pumps out the jab and lands an uppercut. Hard leg kick from Tavares and Marquardt tries to grab the limb for a takedown, but it doesn’t pay off. Flurry of punches at close range from Tavares.
Tavares lands punches as Marquardt clinches. Separating again and Tavares looks the fresher fighter here. He lands a couple of switch kicks up high, but they are blocked. Both men land in close. Tavares lands a front kick to the head.
Exchange of leg kicks. Jab scores for Tavares. last 30 seconds now. Body kick for Tavares as Marquardt lands a punch. Marquardt looks a little unsteady after a punch from Tavares, but his opponent doesn’t seem to have noticed. Tavares does turn up the heat a little in the final 10 seconds though and finishes looking the stronger man.
Decision:
A steady, assured performance from Tavares tonight and he earns himself a clean sweep on the judges scorecards (30-27 x3).
