Marquardt, Okami battle for position

Saturday night, the Ultimate Fighting Championship invades Germany for the second time with a middleweight title eliminator headlining the UFC 122 fight card.

Both Nate Marquardt and Yushin Okami are hungry for their second crack at Anderson Silva, but only one will become the next to challenge for the coveted UFC middleweight championship.

In addition, an array of international talent will be in action with some compelling match-ups on hand.

Let's take a closer look at the UFC 122 main card:

Nate Marquardt (30-9-2) vs. Yushin Okami (25-5)

This pivotal middleweight showdown will determine the No. 1 contender for Anderson Silva's prestigious title.

Marquardt, 31, is coming off a stoppage of solid Brazilian prospect Rousimar Palhares this past September.

After amassing emphatic victories over Martin Kampmann, Wilson Gouveia and Demian Maia, Marquardt emerged as a frontrunner to challenge Silva for the middleweight crown. However, a one-sided loss to Chael Sonnen put Marquardt back into the circle of contenders. The defeat exposed Marquardt for deficient takedown defense, a glaring weakness in his game, which could also be exploited against the Japanese grappler Okami.

One of Greg Jackson's prized pupils, Marquardt is a well-rounded combatant with a BJJ black belt under Ricardo Murgel and a wealth of striking experience. Of his 30 victories, Marquardt has finished eight opponents by knockout and 15 by submission. The three-time middleweight King of Pancrase has been close to the UFC title on multiple occasions, but he has yet to taste gold in the U.S.

Marquardt has been eager for a rematch with Silva since their July 2007 fight, which Silva won by first-round TKO. Meanwhile, Okami, too, awaits a second tilt with "The Spider" as he is one of only four men to defeat the seemingly indomitable UFC middleweight ruler. Okami beat the current champion by disqualification when they faced off in the 2006 Rumble on the Rock tournament.

The 29-year-old Japanese southpaw is coming off wins over Mark Munoz and Lucio Linhares. Like Marquardt, Okami's last loss came against the Sonnen, who is currently facing a suspension for a positive steroid test, last October.

Sonnen has praised Okami for his relentless style and vast skillset, which recently lead to Okami making a progressive career move by joining Team Quest to train alongside Sonnen and Matt Lindland. Okami had previously been training out of his native Japan where he prepared for fights alongside Caol Uno, Katsuya Inoue and Keita Nakamura. Obviously, Okami is benefiting from working with other world-class wrestlers his size for a change, which should be a decisive factor on fight night.

Besides his loss to Sonnen, Okami was outpointed by Rich Franklin in a 2007 title eliminator. His other notable octagon wins include Alan Belcher, Mike Swick and the late Evan Tanner.

A standout wrestler, Okami will try to utilize his most dominant base to outgrapple Marquardt, the same strategy employed by Sonnen. However, Okami has also proven to be a talented boxer with an aggressive jab and effective footwork. On the other hand, Marquardt has exhibited knockout power on multiple occasions and will likely be targeting a powerful shot against the crafty Japanese veteran.

Despite possessing a wide array of skills that could work to his advantage, Marquardt could have a difficult time fending off the takedowns of Okami. Fans can expect an evenly contested battle that could get ugly, but Okami could have the kryptonite, or wrestling pedigree, to vanquish Marquardt's superman.

Alessio Sakara (15-7) vs. Jorge Rivera (19-7)

While this bout undoubtedly lacks the star power fans have come to expect from a UFC co-headliner, a knockout will be the likely outcome when these two explosive strikers cross paths in the octagon.

Sakara, 29, is a sharp technician with prior professional boxing experience and a BJJ brown belt. Anchored at American Top Team, the Italian banger benefits from a multitude of high-level training partners including Thiago Alves, Thiago Silva and Mike Thomas Brown.

For the first time in his UFC career, Sakara has compiled three straight wins, including a recent first-round stoppage of James Irvin. While his area of expertise is the standup game, Sakara's chin has been scrutinized after knockout losses against Drew McFedries, Houston Alexander and Chris Leben.

A veteran of the fourth season of "The Ultimate Fighter" on Spike TV, Rivera is riding his own-three fight winning streak, including a recent destruction of former title challenger Nate Quarry. The Team Sityodtong product under Mark DellaGrotte is a Muay Thai specialist with dynamic striking, as well as power behind his shots.

Rivera made a splash in his UFC debut back in 2003 when he defeated Canadian David Loiseau by unanimous decision. Despite coming out on the losing end in five of his 12 UFC appearances, Rivera has beaten a number of quality foes such as Kendall Grove and Dennis Hallman.

Being the less tentative striker of the pair, Rivera is expected to charge forward with an onslaught of strikes as soon as the bell sounds. Sakara, meanwhile, prefers to find openings by picking his shots carefully. That very same lack of aggression has led to his demise against powerful strikers in the past and could be a detrimental strategy against Rivera come Saturday night.

Andre Winner (11-4-1) vs. Dennis Siver (16-7)

This intriguing lightweight pairing could produce three highly entertaining rounds of action.

Winner, 29, is coming off a disappointing decision setback against Nik Lentz at UFC 118, a bout that has been heavily criticized for its lack of action. But Winner actually tried to engage with his striking, while Lentz was unrelenting with his attempted takedowns.

Knowing that a second straight loss could mean a potential release, Winner will have his work cut out for him against the hometown favorite. Based at Team Rough House in the U.K., Winner's sparring partners include seasoned welterweights Dan Hardy and Paul Daley.

A finalist on the ninth season of "The Ultimate Fighter," Winner defeated Roli Delgado and Rafaello Oliveira after his stint on the show, where he lost to Ross Pearson in the final, a familiar outcome for his adversary this Saturday.

Siver, a German-Russian fighter based at the OC Fight Team in Germany, also lost to Pearson by decision when they clashed this past March. Since that setback, however, Siver recorded the most notable win of his career -- a unanimous decision over durable veteran Spencer Fisher.

While he possesses a BJJ purple belt, Siver excels on his feet, which should translate to an entertaining war with the Muay Thai practitioner Winner. Siver's edge in experience and boost of confidence coming off the triumph over Fisher should make him the slight favorite.

Amir Sadollah (3-2) vs. Peter Sobotta (8-3)

Sadollah is in a must-win situation against the Polish-German submission specialist Sobotta, who will likely be released unless he impresses the UFC brass with a standout performance.

The 30-year-old Sadollah won the seventh installment of "The Ultimate Fighter" by submitting C.B. Dollaway. Since joining the UFC roster, the Sambo black belt has won decisions against Phil Baroni and Brad Blackburn, while dropping bouts to Johny Hendricks and Dong Hyun Kim.

The Xtreme Couture product was pushed hard by the UFC ahead of his fight with Kim this past May. However, the South Korean judoka served him a harsh lesson with a smothering grappling game that led to a lopsided decision loss for Sadollah.

Having spent time in Thailand to refine his striking, Sadollah continues to evolve. After all, he only has five professional fights under his belt, a rarity in the UFC. Faced with the task of disposing of a local youngster, Sadollah must use this opportunity to show off his improved skills and live up to the expectations he set for himself on the popular reality show.

Winless since signing with the UFC, the 23-year-old Sobotta dropped successive decisions to James Wilks and Paul Taylor. Given his age, Sobotta has the potential to develop into a welterweight threat as his career progresses.

Saturday night, the local draw is being primed as a stepping stone for a fighter the UFC hopes to push with its marketing machine. Sadollah is still relatively green, though he should have little trouble picking up his fourth UFC victory in enemy territory as he fights overseas for the first time in his career.

Krzysztof Soszynski (21-10-1) vs. Goran Reljic (8-2)

Unbeaten before suffering a career-changing back injury, Reljic was once regarded as one of the middleweight division's most promising future stars. However, Reljic suffered back-to-back setbacks since returning to action, which has prompted the well-rounded Croatian to take a stab at the light heavyweight division.

The 26-year-old spent nearly two years on the sidelines after defeating BJJ black belt Wilson Gouveia in his UFC debut. Since returning earlier this year, Reljic has suffered decision setbacks against C.B. Dollaway and Kendall Grove. A BJJ brown belt, Reljic is most comfortable on the mat, although he has proven equally capable of standing and trading blows.

Soszynski, a 33-year-old Polish-Canadian, was stopped by crowd-pleaser Stephan Bonnar this past July. The IFL veteran was eliminated from the eighth season of "The Ultimate Fighter" when he was submitted by Vinny Magalhaes. Since his run on the show, Soszynski has won four fights in the UFC, including a first-round submission of American military hero Brian Stann, with his lone defeats suffered against Bonnar and Brandon Vera.

Previously a member of Dan Henderson's Team Quest affiliate in Temecula, Calif., Soszynski has since moved his camp to Mark Munoz's Reign Training Center. Working with a wrestler the caliber of Munoz will help elevate Soszysnki's game as he also gets to work with fresh training partners and more fighters his size.

As the betting lines would indicate, this is an evenly matched encounter that could come down to gameplanning, preparation and conditioning. That being said, Reljic should have superior striking, which should give him the slight edge.