The Ultimate Comeback

Ultimate fighter Nate Quarry fights his way back from a degenerative disc condition that required extensive spinal fusion surgery

By Matthew Sherman

The Lake Oswego Review, Apr 26, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (3 Reader comments)

Vern Uyetake / The Lake Oswego Review

Nate Quarry started his career as a mixed martial artist with virtually no previous experience and ended up fighting for the Middleweight belt in 2005.

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Nate Quarry, covered in sweat, looks in the mirror at West Linn’s Premier Martial Arts studio on Salamo Road and checks on the noticeable lump developing above his right eye. There is also a large bruise just below his ribs on the left side of his body.

Ten feet away, Greg Thompson sits on the floor in the facility’s unique cage, looking for his toenail which had been ripped away a few minutes previously.

It is just a sparring session for the two mixed martial arts competitors. Quarry’s manager, West Linn resident Katie Clark, estimates that the pair are probably only competing at about 60 percent of their capable speed.

Still, blistering kicks delivered by padded legs echo in the small room, Thompson is tossed against the cage before the pair tumble to the ground, grappling for position.

When a timer rings in the corner, the pair release each other and crouch off to the side of the cage, analyzing and discussing various moves that occurred during the pervious round.

“I liked this a lot better when he was out of shape,” Thompson jokes about Quarry.

Quarry, a professional mixed martial artist, competing on the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has already been through a career’s worth of emotions and experiences. The 35-year-old saw his first UFC fight at the age of 24 and was instantly hooked.

“I was so amazed at what these guys were doing. I wanted to see what it was all about. I’m living testimony that someone can walk through the door and end up being successful,” Quarry said.

Quarry joined a gym and started to train. After taking his lumps initially, he became more and more skilled at all of the sport’s different avenues. As the name suggests, mixed martial arts combines the skills of multiple fighting techniques, including boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo and kickboxing.

“Everything that is in the Olympics is allowed but it’s all combined into one sport,” Quarry said.

With intense training, Quarry became ready for competition. The North Salem High School graduate had never participated in athletics previously but thrived in this capacity.

At a fight in Richmond, Va., Quarry dispatched an opponent while a casting director for Spike TV was in attendance. The director approached Quarry after the match and offered him an audition for an upcoming reality show.

Quarry won a spot on the show that saw 16 fighters living together in the same house, competing for a UFC contract.

“They locked us in and taped everything. It was kind of like boot camp. I really appreciated the experience once I was done but I wouldn’t want to go back,” Quarry said.

Early in the competition, Quarry broke his ankle during a practice but he recovered in time to fight on the undercard of the show’s climactic episode.

The show was wildly popular and it gave Quarry instant exposure. After its taping was concluded, he quickly rose through the ranks on the UFC, becoming a top Middleweight fighter.

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