‘Rumble’ Welcomes Marquardt to Welterweight at UFC Live 4

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A rumored drop to 170 pounds for former middleweight title challenger Nate Marquardt will become reality at UFC Live 4, as “The Great” meets Anthony Johnson in the evening's main event.

Sherdog.com confirmed the booking with a source close to the bout on Wednesday following an initial report by MMAJunkie.com. UFC on Versus 4 goes down June 26 from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh and will also feature an additional welterweight scrap featuring Matt Brown and Rich Attonito.

Marquardt has split his last four contests, going 2-2 in the Octagon after a three-fighting winning streak earned him a title eliminator bout against Chael Sonnen in February 2010. After being outwrestled by Sonnen for three rounds, “The Great” rebounded with a victory over leg lock specialist Rousimar Palhares that September. The victory earned him another No. 1 contender's shot, this time against Yushin Okami. But once again the Grudge Training Center representative would come up short, as Okami walked away with a unanimous decision at UFC 122. Most recently, the former King of Pancrase bested Dan Miller at UFC 128, garnering a unanimous decision victory on March 19.

Johnson recently made his return to the cage after a knee injury kept him out action for 16 months. Fully recovered, “Rumble” looked sharp in his last outing, as he intelligently used his superior wrestling to smother heavy-handed Brit Dan Hardy for three rounds at UFC Fight Night 24 last month. Johnson has won four of his last five contests, the lone loss in that span coming to former title contender Josh Koscheck at UFC 106 in 2009.