Following his victory over Maia, Marquardt was scheduled to fight Dan Henderson to determine number one contendership to Silva's Middleweight Championship. Henderson left the UFC for Strikeforce after attempts to agree on a new contract failed. A new bout was arranged between Marquardt and American wrestler Chael Sonnen, scheduled for UFC 110 and later moved to UFC 109. Marquardt was taken down at will by Sonnen multiple times during each round. Although able to lock in a guillotine choke late in the third round, Marquardt was not able to finish the submission attempt and lost the fight in an upset via unanimous decision.