UFC 212 One to Watch: Vitor Belfort vs. Nate Marquardt

Fresh off Alexander Gustafsson's dominant knockout win over Glover Teixeira in Stockholm, Sweden, the UFC returns to Brazil this weekend at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro for UFC 212.

UFC 212 will be headlined by a featherweight title unification bout between champion Jose Aldo, who truly made his mark as an MMA star upon defeating Chad Mendes at UFC 142 at the same—albeit since renamed—venue in 2012, and interim belt-holder Max Holloway, who defeated Anthony Pettis in impressive fashion to gain UFC gold at 145lbs.

The exciting main event makes up for an unheralded fight card which, on paper, should produce some interesting contests throughout, though it's not necessarily abundant in name power after Anderson Silva removed himself from the event once scheduled opponent Kelvin Gastelum was pulled for failing a drug test.

The UFC has deployed one major name as a weapon to sell both tickets and pay-per-views, though. Vitor Belfort, a world-renowned fighter who enjoys evergreen popularity in his home country of Brazil, is facing former Pancrase and Strikeforce champion Nate Marquardt in a battle between two of MMA's elder statesmen of the middleweight division.

Immediately following a devastating TKO loss to the aforementioned Gastelum, a loss later overturned as a No Contest following the latter's failed drug test for marijuana, Belfort made multiple comments pertaining to retirement in March. "It's time to end this chapter as a professional fighter," Belfort said in March. "My body is not the same anymore for training. It's too much pain. I did more than 14 surgeries. I left everything in the Octagon. I'm sad because I didn't give the win to my fellow Brazilians, but it happens."

Despite the strong hints of retirement in March, Belfort and the UFC announced a month later that "The Phenom" was to fight once again in one last hurrah in the Octagon against Marquardt at UFC 212 in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro. Given Belfort made his debut at UFC 12, there is some poetic significance in seeing him finish off his career 200 pay-per-views and 20 years after his first sighting in the Octagon—that's if you can ignore the countless Fight Night shows and UFC 37.5, a PPV headlined by Belfort, in between, anyway.

But things are never straight forward with Belfort. His retirement talk can be considered the latest of contradictory statements made by Belfort over his 20-year career, as it turns out Belfort has another fight on his UFC contract beyond Marquardt on Saturday night—dousing his immediate hopes of a fun farewell from the UFC, as well as his clear intentions to fight abroad away from the confines of the Octagon.

Retirement fight or not, Marquardt isn't necessarily the marquee match-up many would have expected to act as Belfort's final dance partner, but the pair's careers have run at a near-parallel, following a similar trajectory since the early "NHB" days. At 38, "The Great" is only two years Belfort's junior and also made his name as an upcoming fighter overseas a long way away from where he called home, earning the middleweight title at Pancrase in Japan before moving to the UFC and eventually challenging Anderson Silva for his belt. As a welterweight, Marquardt captured Strikeforce gold seven years after his last title defence at Pancrase. Belfort did what Marquardt couldn't in capturing a UFC belt—the UFC light heavyweight championship against Randy Couture in 2004—and also plied his trade in Japan with Pride FC.

While both men saw success, they also encountered plenty of controversy in their respective careers. Belfort failed a drug test in 2006 following Pride 32, testing positive for anabolic-androgenic steroid 4-Hydroxytestosterone and elevated testosterone levels. In 2005, Marquardt failed his first drug test after his UFC debut against Ivan Salverry, popping for high levels of nandrolone, an anabolic steroid. Both fighters were also high-profile users of the then-legal Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) and were both caught out with their testosterone levels being too high once TRT was banned from mixed martial arts competition, leading to Belfort's battle against Chris Weidman and Marquardt's match-up against Rick Story being cancelled.

Another parallel, thanks in part to their similar ages, the pair have also experienced a downturn in form while in the twilight of their careers. Though the latter contest was overturned, Belfort has lost to top middleweights in "Jacare" Souza, Gegard Mousasi and Gastelum by TKO in his last three fights. Meanwhile, Marquardt has lost seven of his last 10 fights with four of them coming by knockout.

Looking back, Marquardt would indeed be the perfect final UFC opponent for Belfort. Whether this is Belfort's retirement fight or not, this is the optimum pairing the UFC could have put together at this stage at both fighters' careers and both competitors are renowned for putting on a show.

Make sure this is your One to Watch on Saturday evening—there's a slight chance you could be witnessing the end of a storied fighting career or, at worst, a fun fight.