185 lbs. Nate “The Rock” Quarry (11-3) vs. “Crazy” Tim Credeur (12-2)
The third match of the evening pits Ultimate Fighter Season One alum Nate “The Rock” Quarry against Season Seven competitor “Crazy” Tim Credeur. This is a great stylistic match up, pitting Quarry’s heavy handed boxing against Credeur’s slick and effective Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Quarry is an inspirational story. First, he was eliminated from The Ultimate Fighter by an injury he sustained training with Randy Couture. Then, he was forced to undergo an extensive back surgery which would have ended most careers. Quarry showed amazing resolve, though, fighting back from adversity and returning to mixed martial arts. Unfortunately, his health issues did affect his mobility, which wasn’t much to write home about to begin with. His standup is technically sound and he has very heavy hands, but he is slow and lumbering, which makes him a stationary target and also hurts his wrestling.
Credeur, on the other hand, is something of a wild man during his fights. His standup is good, not great, but that has never stopped him from trading shots and putting on a show. On the ground, he is extremely effective and slick and his best chance against Quarry will certainly be to take him down and try to submit him. Considering that two thirds of his professional wins have come by submission that is a game plan Credeur is certainly capable of executing.
Stylistically, I think this fight is a nightmare for Quarry. While he has an edge standing, at least technically, Credeur is much faster and more mobile. More importantly, Credeur outclasses Quarry on the ground by miles. Quarry just doesn’t have the physical tools to overcome Credeur’s superior speed and grappling.
Credeur by submission, round 2.
