SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
April - 2015
17
Honorable Mention: Travis Lutter
No. 10: Nate Marquardt
NO. 9: Patrick Cote
No. 8: Rich Franklin
Travis Lutter is a name few fans remember,
which is understandable considering how his
tenure with the UFC ended. After winning sea-
son four of The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback
against future title contender Patrick Cote, he
earned a guaranteed fight against The Spider.
Unfortunately Lutter failed to make weight and
the fight was a non-title bout. This would have
made little difference in Lutter’s ranking on this
list however, has he only had one more fight in
the UFC, a loss to former champion Rich Frank-
lin, before being cut. His career record post-Spi-
der would be 1-3 with an overall MMA record
of 10-6.
Without a doubt the most experienced fighter
on this list, Nate Marquardt has had more than
his share of ups and downs in his career. Once
thought to be one of the few legitimate threats
to Silva, despite coming up short in his title bid,
his first tenure with the UFC ended on a bitter
note as Marquardt was cut due to questionable
test results. He found some success with Strike-
force after dropping to welterweight and cap-
turing their vacant tile, but failed to carry over
that success in his first title defense or into the
UFC’s 170-lbs division. After deciding to move
back up to 185-lbs, Marquardt has now gone
1-1, but will unlikely ever be considered a top-
10 fighter again. His combined UFC record post-
Silva is 7-6; 8-7 if you add his Strikeforce bouts,
putting his career record at 33-14-2.
Four years. That’s the span of time between Pat-
rick Cote’s last win in the Octagon before being
cut and scoring a “W” in his return. After losing
to Silva at UFC 90, Cote would go on to drop his
next two fights leading to his cut. Departed but
destined to not be forgotten, Cote would rack
up four straight wins on the regional circuit be-
fore being brought back to square off with Cung
Le. While Cote did not win his return bout, the
performance was exciting and respectable, and
he was able to score three-straight wins, an al-
most unheard of feat for someone in his shoes,
before dropping a unanimous decision to Ste-
phen Thompson. While the cut to welterweight
has served well for Cote, and he may never be
a true contender again, his style and experience
have more than earned him his job back and
make him a fan favorite every time.
One of the few people to face Silva more than
once, former champion Rich Franklin knows
what it’s like to be on top of the world and
how to climb back up the mountain, only to be
knocked off again. While not officially retired,
his place in the history books is well established
and it’s likely another step into the cage would
serve little purpose at this point. The lat time
“Ace” won back-t0-back fights at middlweight
was in 2007 before getting a crack at the title
he lost. Since the second loss to Silva Franklin
has managed a barely above .500 record of 5-4,
which is better than some but not as great as
others.
