Nate Marquardt has a number of reasons for going back to the middleweight division. One of those reasons, he says, was a message from above.

The former UFC middleweight contender has spent his past four bouts at welterweight, where he put together a rough 1-3 record with two first-round knockout losses.

At first, Marquardt believed the drop to 170 pounds was the best career decision he had ever made. From the looks of his fourth-round knockout of Tyron Woodley to win the Strikeforce title in his debut at the weight class, that feeling appeared accurate.

But he lost his next fight, and the title, to Tarec Saffiedine at Strikeforce’s promotional finale. Then Jake Ellenberger knocked him out in three minutes in his return to the UFC. And Hector Lombard knocked him out in less than two minutes. It all began to snowball downward for Marquardt, and that’s when he says his faith helped guide him back to 185 pounds.

“I just feel like that’s what God wanted me to do, was to move back up to middleweight,” Marquardt told MMAjunkie. “I’d never lost two fights in a row before, so it was actually more after the second one that I was actually kind of questioning myself.

“When I lost the third fight, I was disappointed. But at the same time, I didn’t have the same thoughts that I did after the Ellenberger fight. I felt like I understood then why I was losing, and it was because I was fighting at 170. So I made the move.”

The 35-year-old says his speed, power and agility remained intact when fighting at 170 pounds, but it was his ability to take a punch that dwindled. The results showed, as Marquardt was stopped by strikes for just the second and third times since his professional debut in 1999.

“When I initially cut down to 170, I did feel very good and that was basically attributed to the fact I was eating clean. I was walking around a little bit lighter, so my speed went up, my strength stayed up and my explosive power was still there,” Marquardt said. “Over the time of two years at welterweight, the cut just took its toll on me. The dehydration around the fight was affecting my chin. Your ability to take a punch when you’re dehydrated is a lot lower.”

Marquardt did not have to put his body through an excruciating weight cut to make welterweight, but after every cut, the next one became increasingly difficult. Eventually the wear-and-tear on his body added up, and according to Marquardt, his training suffered.

“For my workouts, I was having to eat less calories and different types of food than what I necessarily wanted to eat and what I needed to eat,” Marquardt said. “I wasn’t able to put the same effort into my workouts, so over time it just made me weaker. My training camps, compared to when I was fighting at 185, were a lot worse because I was not able to perform in my camps because of my diet.

“When you don’t recover from your workout, then the next workout you have you’re a bit slower and you’re not able to lift as much weight. Then suddenly, your whole camp turns out like that. How you train is how you fight. I also just lost strength over time.”

While Marquardt’s stint at welterweight didn’t produce the outcome he desired, he looks at that time in his career as a learning experience. He may be on a three-fight losing streak, but as he returns to middleweight, he believes he knows his body better than ever and has a firm grasp on how to approach training, diet and recovery.

“That’s definitely been a roundabout way to learn what’s going to be better for me at middleweight,” Marquardt said, “I’m walking around lighter than when I was initially fighting at 185. I still feel that quickness and that my cardio has gone up just because I’m walking around lighter. Now I’m able to completely recover from my workouts. I work out very hard, and then I can recover and work out hard again the next workout and not feel drained.”

Marquardt (32-13-2 MMA, 10-6 UFC) officially rejoins the middleweight division on Saturday when he travels to New Zealand to meet James Te Huna (16-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 43 main event at Vector Arena in Auckland. The entire event streams live on UFC Fight Pass.

A three-fight losing streak typically means a fighter is either released from the UFC or on thin ice. Marquardt, however, finds himself in a main event.

Te Huna, much like Marquardt, will be changing weight classes for the fight after a losing streak. But instead of coming up from welterweight, the 32-year-old cuts down from the light heavyweight division where he lost consecutive fights to Mauricio Rua and Glover Teixeira.

Marquardt admits his upcoming foe wasn’t on his radar of potential opponents when he announced his return to middleweight, but he is excited for the challenge.

“I had told them that I wanted to move back to middleweight, but I didn’t have any expectations on who I would be fighting,” Marquardt said. “James Te Huna, for sure, I had heard of him and even seen him, but he wasn’t somebody I paid much attention to being from the light heavyweight division. It’s a good opportunity. I think it’s an exciting matchup.”

The contest will mark Marquardt’s first UFC middleweight bout since March 2011. During his first stint in the weight class, he racked up 10 wins (fourth most all-time) and eight knockdowns (second all-time). His offensive and defensive striking statistics also rank among the top competitors in the division.

Middleweight has evolved a lot since Marquardt last was in the mix. Chris Weidman has knocked longtime titleholder Anderson Silva off his throne to start his own reign, and new contenders like Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo Souza, Gegard Mousasi and Luke Rockhold have made their presences known.

Marquardt could provide a compelling addition to that list of names, but for now his focus remains purely on the task at hand, because a fourth straight loss would put fights with those names out of reach.

“When I have a fight coming up, I’m only focused on the guy I’m fighting,” Marquardt said. “I don’t have to worry about Weidman or Silva or (Dan) Henderson or whoever. I only have one fight right now. You can drive yourself crazy thinking about who you’re going to fight or who you match up well with or how you’re going to beat this guy or that guy. It doesn’t really matter because you only get one fight at a time. It’s nothing I have to worry about.”

Even though Marquardt is in the spotlight of a UFC main event, there’s a realistic possibility he’s fighting for his job. Only a handful of athletes have been given another chance after four consecutive losses, and Marquardt does not want his name to be in debate about whether he should be the next.

Marquardt’s situation may seem like plenty of pressure for a fighter to overcome, but he says he doesn’t feel any of it. In fact, “The Great” is not out to prove his naysayers wrong, but rather to prove he can make use out of the abilities he possesses.

“I don’t feel like I have anything to prove,” Marquardt said. “I feel like God blessed me with a lot of talent, and I know what He’s blessed me with. I train six days a week, and I train with some of the best fighters and I’ve fought some of the best fighters. I know what I’ve been blessed with.

“My job isn’t to go out and prove something, my job is to go out and fight. I’m just going to do the very best I can, I’m going to fight hard and put on a good show for the fans. That’s what my job is. My job isn’t to prove anything, because I already know what I’ve been blessed with.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 43, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.