UFC middleweight top contender Nate Marquardt will not be waiting around to see how Dan Henderson's contract situation plays out, as the Jackson's Submission Fighting product will move forward and take on fellow contender Chael Sonnen at UFC 110 on Feb. 21, 2010 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

The pair are awaiting bout agreements and will be added shortly to the UFC's debut in the "land down under" according to a report from Sportsnet.ca.

Marquardt was originally slated to face Dan Henderson at UFC 108 in January to determine the middleweight division's top contender, however, he was left in limbo as Henderson and the UFC have yet to come to terms on a new contract. In fact, sources postulate that Henderson may be close to signing with Strikeforce.

Marquardt along with Henderson openly expressed their desire to rematch UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva, but the UFC instead opted to give Vitor Belfort a title shot when Silva returns from injury.

Marquardt (29-8-2) is currently riding a three-fight winning streak, putting together wins over Martin Kampmann, Wilson Gouveia and most recently scoring a 21-second knockout win over Demian Maia at UFC 102 in August. He has put together a solid 8-2 UFC record, scoring other notable Octagon wins over Dean Lister, Joe Doerksen and Ivan Salaverry, while suffering his only UFC losses against Thales Leites and Anderson Silva.

Beside the UFC, Marquardt has fought the majority of his 10-year career with Pancrese. He has finished 22 of his 29 career wins and holds other notable career wins over the likes of Shonie Carter, Kazuo Misaki and Yves Edwards.

Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) has won his last two bouts, with his most recent win coming against Yushin Okami at UFC 104 last month. Following the win, Sonnen said he would be interested in filling in for his Team Quest teammate, Dan Henderson, and face Marquardt if things didn't get resolved between Henderson and the UFC. His last loss came at the hands of Demian Maia in his return to the Octagon following a stint with the other Zuffa owned promotion, the WEC.

Sonnen has put together a 3-3 record in six fights with the UFC, scoring other notable Octagon wins over Trevor Prangley and Dan Miller. During his seven-year career, he has competed for other notable promotions such as Bodog Fight, SportFight, Pancrese and Extreme Challenge. Sonnen holds other notable wins during his career over the likes of Paulo Filho, Amar Suloev, Tim Credeur, Renato Sobral and Jason "Mayhem" Miller.

The as of yet unannounced UFC 110 event is rumored to be headlined by an explosive middleweight bout between Wanderlei Silva and Yoshihiro Akiyama. Also slated for the event is a heavyweight battle between sluggers Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Ben Rothwell.

Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 110 right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!