Marquardt won't blame Sonnen loss on steroids

After his last second loss to Anderson Silva, Chael Sonnen tested positive for high levels of testosterone. Without knowing the reason, it's taken a lot of the string away from his great performance. It also begs the question -- was this the only time his testosterone was at a high level for a fight? Nate Marquardt was upset by Sonnen at UFC 109. That win led to Sonnen's title shot. But Marquardt has no interest in connecting the dots.

"My thinking is, it doesn't matter if the guy I'm fighting is on steroids," Marquardt told the Las Vegas Sun. "I don't care about that. I should be able to beat him either way. I feel like I can fight someone on steroids and still have them at a disadvantage.

"If you're a true athlete, the best way is to be natural. Anything you get from steroids you're trading off somewhere else, whether it's your cardio or longevity in the sport. You need all those things."

It sounds like Marquardt is also uncomfortable with judging Sonnen before all the facts come out.

"Honestly, I really don't know what to think. I don't know the facts," Marquardt said. "Either way, he's a tough guy and he's going to be back before long."

That's probably from experience. Marquardt had his own run-in with a state commission back in 2005 at Ultimate Fight Night 1. He tested positive for high levels of nandralone and received a six-month suspension. Marquardt fought the suspension, saying the positive result came from taking an over-the-counter supplement, and it got reduced to five months.

Marquardt places the blame for the Sonnen loss squarely on his own shoulders saying he lost some of his fire before the fight.

Another positive steroid test turned up Tuesday. Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole confirmed with Marc Ratner, UFC's VP of Regulatory Affairs, that Vinicius Quieroz tested positive for Stanozolol at UFC 120. The UFC rookie is done with the promotion. UFC U.K. chief Marshall Zelaznik told MMAjunkie that Quieroz also forfeited the discretionary bonus that he received for his loss against Rob Broughton.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Marquardt-won-t-blame-Sonnen-loss-on-steroids?urn=mma-282306

ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL APPLE COMPUTER APPLIED MATERIALS ARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ARROW ELECTRONICS