marquardt-nate1Mixed martial arts don’t get much media attention around here, but there’s a good opportunity to correct that this weekend, when Colorado fighter Nate Marquardt will take on Demian Maia in Ultimate Fighting Championship 102. According to MMATorch.com, Marquardt’s fight is in the middle of the event, but it may be the best fight of the night.

Marquardt (pictured), the site claims, is one of the best mixed martial arts middleweights in the UFC and may be one of the only people around who can take out the undefeated Maia, from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

MMATorch picks Maia to win in a second-round submission, but don’t count Marquardt out. He tells 104.3 The Fan that he doesn’t really care what people say about Maia; he’ll bring the pain either way.

Maybe the high-profile fight will help bring attention to Shane Carwin, a fighter from Greeley who will take on UFC powerhouse Brock Lesnar for a title later this year. Carwin is called the Colossus of Colorado, and it might have something to do with the fact that he’s finished all 10 of his fights in the first round, averaging just over a minute on each (via UFC.com).

Carwin has the ability to take people down (watch a short video here), and will put it all on the line against Lesnar on November 21 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Carwin isn’t just a huge guy who can knock people out. He holds a degree in environmental technology from Western State College and a mechanical engineering degree with a business and economics minor from the Colorado School of Mines (via MMAWeekly.com). He nearly made it into the NFL, but a back injury from college killed that dream.