Although still unofficial, news of a potential middleweight match-up between Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen at UFC 110 in Australia are sweeping across the internet.  February 21st is the speculated date for the UFC down under, and other rumored fights include Wand/Akiyama, Rothwell/CroCop, and Bonnar/Soszynski. Chael Sonnen has surged forward in the middleweight race with his recent decision victory over the UFC's 185 pound dark horse contender, Yushin Okami, at UFC 104.  The former Olympic wrestling alternate and two-time University of Oregon NCAA champion is 9-2 in his last 11 fights, crying uncle to submission specialists Paulo Filho and Demia Maia, but beating Filho in their rematch to attain the short-lived WEC middleweight championship.  As he did with Okami, Sonnen also outlasted Dan Miller to a judges' decision since transferring to the UFC. Nate "The Great" Marquardt has remained poised as the division's elite behind MMA god Anderson Silva.  He now stands alone as the outright top contender considering Okami's recent defeat and Dan Henderson's disappearance due to contract renegotiations.  Besides a controversial loss to Thales Leites in a fight where Marquardt was penalized on the score cards twice for infractions without warning, his only other flaw in 13 fights since 2003 is Anderson Silva at UFC 73.  Marquardt has effectively crippled Martin Kampmann, Wilson Gouveia, and Demian Maia with creative and overwhelming striking displays in his last three bouts.

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