Nate Marquardt certainly didn’t look like “The Great” in his past three contests at welterweight, but promised to return to vintage form when he returned to middleweight at UFC Fight Night 43 on Saturday.

The former Strikeforce champ lived up to his word, beating James Te Huna from pillar to post before finishing him with an armbar in the first round.

Te Huna, who fought in front of a New Zealand home crowd, was unable to keep Marquardt at bay with his striking and was thoroughly outclassed on the mat, with the former King of Pancrase obtaining dominant positions on the ground at will.

Marquardt ended the fight at the tail end of the opening frame by easily transitioning to an armbar from mount and the tap came shortly thereafter.

The Greg Jackson’s MMA product fought at 185 pounds for the first time in over three years and picked up his first victory in a year-and-a-half.

Te Huna, a career light heavyweight, decided to test the waters at 185 after back-to-back losses to Glover Teixeira and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

After four straight victories between September 2011 and February 2013, Te Huna has now lost three in a row and could realistically be on the UFC’s cutting block come Monday.