Nate Marquardt (photo via Esther Lin / Showtime)

By Michael Hatamoto

One-time middleweight contender Nate Marquardt is likely at a crossroads in his career after dropping down to welterweight in the UFC.

Jake Ellenberger was able to avoid threats and finished Marquardt in the first round of their UFC 158 clash on Saturday night.  It was the first time Marquardt was finished since a 2007 TKO loss to Anderson Silva in a middleweight title fight.

I no longer believe Marquardt is a top 10 welterweight, but a few fights could still be fascinating for the fans.  A matchup against Siyar Bahadurzada might entice fans for something other than a UFC pay-per-view card, as he looks to battle back from a loss to Dong Hyun Kim.  Speaking of Kim, he would be another possible match up for Marquardt, because it could make for an interesting stylistic clash.

I think Rick Story could be another person that would make for an appealing fight against Marquardt, though MMA fans want to see Story and Jordan Mein matched up.

If all else fails, I wouldn’t mind seeing Marquardt move back up in weight to middleweight, depending on if his coaches and team think.  Marquardt remains a very talented fighter that should remain in the big leagues, but he’s currently on a two-fight losing streak to Jake Ellenberger and Tarec Saffiedine.