Casual Corner: Nate Marquardt Successful at UFC Fight Night, Chael Sonnen is Granted a Rematch, and Brock Lesnar gets his own Month

Like many "hardcore" MMA fans, I have a laundry list of friends who love to watch fights, but don't follow the sport quite as intently as myself.  The casual fan, we've seen get tossed under the bus time and time again, called "TUF Fans", moneybags, and heaven forbid if you were a fan of Professional Wrestling prior to falling in love with combat sports.  Fact is, hardcore fans are the minority in every sport.  We spend hours visiting an assortment of websites looking to catch the news as it breaks, and having lengthy discussions about news and opinions dealing with current events in the sport.  Truthfully, it cannot be a healthy habit, so let me say now, every casual fan has my respect for having enough self control to not stay glued to a screen and go mad with their key strokes every time there's a bad call by a ref, or some fighter gets robbed by the judges.  So, without further ado, Casual Corner.

Nate Marquardt crushes Rousimar Palhares:

Wednesday night we saw Nate "The Great" Marquardt lay his fists all over Rousimar Palhares.  You may remember Palhares as the buffed out Brazilian that popped Tomasz Drwal's knee at UFC 111 with a leg lock.  So, it may be safe to say that last night when Palhares was fussing about grease that wasn't actually there, and he got his face caved in, that it was karma in action.  Other than an awesome finish, there's not much we can take away from the fight though.  Marquardt is obviously at the top of the middleweight ladder, with his eyes set on the winner of the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen rematch.  Marquardt will likely fight again before a title shot, and one has to wonder what will happen after Yushin Okami fights Vitor Belfort in the main event of UFC 122 on November 13th in Germany.  Regardless of how the title picture plays out, Marquardt is surely pleased with his performance, not one hair on his beard was harmed.

Love it or hate it, Chael Sonnen is granted his rematch with Anderson Silva:

If you haven't heard, hear it now, Chael Sonnen will fight Anderson Silva yet again, the rematch could take place as soon as January.  Although his loss to Silva was decisive, Chael Sonnen did give who many consider the best fighter pound for pound the fight of his career.  Silva claims there was an injury, but mine eyes do not deceive me, Sonnen beat the hell out of the champion like none other.  He backed up nearly all he said he would, but that "Happy Meal Black Belt" comment really bit him in the arse.  I personally feel this is the best move to make financially, and for the sport.  The other option was to give Vitor Belfort the title shot, but the man has yet to fight at middleweight in the UFC, and also hasn't fought in over a year.  When a big money fight is a viable option, I just don't see why going for Vitor would be a wise choice. 

Speaking of Chael Sonnen, he's already mingling with the media, having appeared on ESPN's MMA Live, taken part in a UFC Q&A, and is making appearances at a variety of public events.  He's already begun his smack talk, and also has no problem being an equal opportunity offender.  Here's a few quotes from the Q&A:

"People keep saying, 'Chael, you're hyping the fight.' No I'm not. Hyping a fight is when I tell you guys, 'This is going to be a great fight.' I did just the opposite (before the first fight), and I'm going to do just the opposite now. This is not going to be a great fight. This is going to be (Anderon Silva) getting beat up for 25 minutes or until he gives up."

'If GSP said he wanted to fight me, the first thing I would say is the same thing I say every time I hear GSP talk: 'Dang it that guy sounds like a French-Canadian Minnie Mouse,'" Sonnen said. "That's the first thing I'd say. Then I'd say, 'Hey, GSP, let me ask you a serious question – do you have a designated driver? Do you have someone to get you home safely? Because clearly you are intoxicated.' 

"If Brock Lesnar was here right now, I'd take my boot off and throw it at him, and he'd better polish it up before he brings it back to me," Sonnen said. "Talking about he's the baddest guy in the UFC? Brock, quit eating so many raw eggs and doing push-ups because it's affecting your realm of reality. Are you kidding me? I'd slap you in your face, and you wouldn't do anything. "

Anderson, think it through.
There's still a few months before they lock the cage door behind me and you.
Last time, they raised your hand, but it was plain to see
I took a lot more about of you than you took out of me.
I broke the mirror, and I blew away the smoke. 
It was me who tapped, but it was you who broke. 
-Chael Sonnen

You know, Chael Sonnen is outrageous, but I'll gladly take him over the monotonous rehashed lines numerous other fighters dish out.  Someone needs to let Chael know that Brock Lesnar takes smack talk, real and manufactured, very seriously though.  Brock would eat Chael, his family, all their pets, then attempt to eat Matt Lindland (soon after spitting him out for tasting horrible) for breakfast.  I could certainly see a lot of people wanting to see Chael get his face smashed by Brock though, he's got to be running out of friends in the business.

Spike TV to push Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez, beginning with "Brocktober":

Brock Lesnar is set to fight the undefeated number one contender, Cain Velasquez at UFC 121.  Spike TV and the UFC are already putting together a UFC Primetime for the fight, set to begin on October 6th.  Not only will we get an inside look at both training camps, Spike TV has dubbed the month of October, "Brocktober".  What does this mean?  It means a lot of Lesnar getting air time, which will no doubt, translate to more pay-per-view buys.  If the marketing for this fight is handled well, this could very well be a record breaker.  Not only will we see Lesnar defend the title, but Jake Shields is also going to make his UFC debut against Dutch kickboxer, Martin Kampmann.  Tito Ortiz will be taking on former pupil from The Ultimate Fighter, Matt Hamill that night as well.  All fans, casual and hardcore, should be thoroughly pleased.

Next week, Casual Corner will get the hype rolling for UFC 119:  Mir vs. Cro Cop, and other hot topics in the sport.  Leave some feedback in the comments, and if you're reading but aren't a member here, sign up!  We've got a wide variety of opinions here at WKR, and we're glad to add to the melting pot. 

Photo via Dave Mandel of Sherdog.