Thales Leites: No Rematch for Nate Marquardt

by Kid Nate on Jun 12, 2008 12:04 PM EDT in News Comment 15 comments

Harsh, but reasonable, as he told Top Gun MMA :

Franz: What's your take on the Marquardt fight, and the controversial ending you guys had?

Thales Leites: The fight was an excellent fight. I was in great shape, great condition to fight. I was really looking forward to victory all the time, but we had some problems during the fight like the illegal knee, and an illegal elbow.

I was a little bit sad about it, I didn't expect it. In my opinion, he didn't do it to hurt me. It's a fight and I fought like a warrior every time. I didn't give up in the fight at any second, at any moment. I was looking for the fight every time and that's why all the best fighters are in the UFC.

Franz: That's true. That big slam he threw down at the end was illegal as well. He's not supposed to be dropping you on your head like that.

Thales Leites: Yeah, they did something illegal there. I don't know if he really knew what he was doing but if it happens, it happens. I have to fight.

When the referee stopped it and he was asking me, "Do you want to fight?" In my mind I was thinking, if I say no, the ref is going to stop the fight and give a victory to Nate and so every time I would look at the referee and say "No, I want to fight, I'm 100%", but I wasn't. As everybody could see that I wasn't 100% but I was saying every time, "I'm OK, I'm OK" because I didn't know what happened. I didn't see the illegal knee. I knew he did it, but I didn't see the illegal knee. I was a little bit out at that moment.

...

Franz: Would you take a rematch?

Thales Leites: I don't think so. He did a lot of illegal things to me. In my opinion it was his obligation to knock me out in the second round after the illegal knee. If he wants to fight me again I think he should get to the line, and wait in it again. I'm looking for the title-shot. He had his chance before, and he couldn't get it so now it's my time.

HT MMA Mania

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Comments

Absolutely reasonable

Why would you take a fight again with a cheater after you already beat him? That’s like driving around looking for a car accident.

by thetakeover on Jun 12, 2008 12:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

He’s talking like he was owning the fight aside from the illegal strikes.

If he wants to fight me again I think he should get to the line, and wait in it again. I’m looking for the title-shot. He had his chance before, and he couldn’t get it so now it’s my time.

As far as I remember, Marquardt was winning the fight and would have won if not for the point deductions.

by WiltChamberlain on Jun 12, 2008 12:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It’s pretty debatable. Most people had Leites winning the first round, and the second round was close before the illegal knee to the face while Leites was on his knee. After that, he clearly wasn’t able to do much. If the illegal knee affected him that much, it’s pretty arguable that he was winning the fight before it happened and Marquardt’s ability to control the fight thereafter was attributable to an illegal knee.

Marquardt isn’t really known for fighting dirty or anything, but from Leites’ point of view, I think it’s pretty reasonable to say you don’t want to rematch somebody who had points deducted twice and then was not even reprimanded for a piledriver at the end of the match. And, as Leites points out, even with all of that, Marquardt still wasn’t able to finish him off.

by Kierkegaard on Jun 12, 2008 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I have to agree

Thales won the first round pretty clearly. I’d score the 2nd and 3rd 9-9 due to the point deductions - and you could score it 8-9 if there had been a 2nd deduction for the pile-driver.
Nate didn’t really pour it on until just before the illegal knee - its possible he would have dominated the rest of the 2nd and 3rd round even without the illegal knee but we’ll never know.
Thales is in the right here IMO.

by Kid Nate on Jun 12, 2008 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If you’re going to take a point off for a foul that wasn’t called, you should give a point back for the foul that shouldn’t have been called.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard Wade on Jun 12, 2008 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

fair enough

Nate still loses the fight.

by Kid Nate on Jun 12, 2008 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

True.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard Wade on Jun 12, 2008 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jesus

I forgot how hard that punch was from Leites. Obviously part of it is Nate running head first into it, but man, watching him get lifted through the air is unreal.

by Luke Thomas on Jun 12, 2008 12:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It's a beautiful punch....

he gets his full power behind it, uses a shorter punch to beat Nate’s longer shot. It’s really a thing of beauty.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

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by Brent Brookhouse on Jun 12, 2008 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Betcha Nate wishes he’d kept his left hand up by his face instead of down by his waist….but yeah that was a doozy.

by Harrymanback1 on Jun 12, 2008 1:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Good move by Thales. He was getting the shit kicked out of him. He would obviously lose again if they fought. Imagine what would happen if he did get a title fight.

by MrNiceGuyMMA on Jun 12, 2008 2:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

[Thales]was getting the shit kicked out of him. He would obviously lose again if they fought.

Perhaps. But, as noted, perhaps if Marquardt didn’t land an illegal knee squarely in the second round Leites would have simply won all three rounds, like he did the first round. Perhaps without the illegal knee Leites would not have been “getting the shit kicked out of him.” I think Leites wins if they have a rematch, but don’t really see a reason that he should be jumping up and down to fight Marquardt again.

by Kierkegaard on Jun 12, 2008 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

In my estimation (which means nothing, lol), Nate is still way ahead of Thales in the line for a title shot. I don’t like some of the things he did in the fight, but I think Nate wins this fight 8 or 9 times out of 10.

Strangely, i do not have a problem at all with Leites not being interested in a rematch, even though it seems like it would be justified.

"They said you was hung!!"

"And they was RIGHT!"

by BJJDenver on Jun 12, 2008 4:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Marquardt’s resume is certainly quite a ways ahead of Leites’s resume in terms of deserving a title shot. But since Marquardt just had a title shot, couldn’t get out of the first round against Silva, and now lost a decision to Leites as a result of multiple penalties, it’s possible that Leites is ahead of him in the “pecking order” for a future title shot right now. Maybe not, but I can’t see Silva-Marquardt 2 being a hugely attractive fight, so maybe with a win against another of the top contenders Leites could be in line for a shot first? I’m not sold that Leites will be able to get that convincing win against any of the top shelf guys in the division, though.

by Kierkegaard on Jun 12, 2008 4:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree on lietes, and in my head (a mess!), I see Nate vs the winner of Almeida/Cote (Ricardo), with that winner getting a shot after Okami gets KO’d!