Video: Nate Marquardt submits Michael Cora in Titan FC 71 comeback fight

After nearly four years away, Nate Marquardt returned Friday and got his first win since 2016.

Marquardt (36-19-2) submitted Michael Cora (5-6), a fighter against whom he had more than five times as much experience, with a first-round armbar at Titan FC 71. But it didn’t come without a little adversity.

Cora kicked high early, and Marquardt returned with one of his own. A minute in, Marquardt landed a spinning back kick to the body that pushed Cora back. But Cora kept coming forward.

Ninety seconds in, the fight hit the canvas thanks to a Marquardt slam, and he tied up Cora from his back. But after the fight moved back to the feet, Cora went ballistic and started drilling Marquardt with punches.

Marquardt hit the canvas, and Cora followed him down. But that proved to be problematic. Cora went into Marquardt’s world, left an arm available, and it wasn’t long before he tapped to the armbar at the 2:39 mark of the opening frame.

Nate snatches the arm and it is over! @NathanMarquardt#TitanFC71 pic.twitter.com/P68J90nSos

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) August 7, 2021

Marquardt retired in 2017 after three straight losses in the UFC and a rough 3-9 stretch at welterweight and middleweight over a nearly five-year period. The 42-year-old former Strikeforce champion started his pro career in 1999.