Monday Morning Hangover: James Te Huna submitted by Nate Marquardt, suffers third straight first round loss

Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone as Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) once again double-dipped, staging two events on the same day (Sat., June 28, 2014) in two different parts of the globe.

UFC Fight Night 43 blew the roof of the Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, while UFC Fight Night 44 exploded from inside AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Jeremy Stephens -- who was outpointed by Cub Swanson in Texas (recap). And Soa Palelei, who saw his 11-fight win streak snapped by Jared Rosholt in New Zealand.

But, which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover now 48 hours removed from an action-packed weekend?

James Te Huna.

Te Huna, who was making his middleweight debut, looked for a fresh start after suffering two straight losses at light heavyweight by challenging former Strikeforce 170-pound champion Nate Marquardt. Another fighter in need of win, as "The Great" went into the bout on a three-fight skid.

And yet, despite having five straight losses between them, their middleweight fight was the main event. Albeit on Fight Pass.

Unfortunately for Te Huna, he's now the one that finds himself in the midst of three straight losses after tapping in the opening round.

The action started early (video), as Nate roasted a few ribs with a well-placed knee that clearly had the hometown boy hurt. After failing to score a takedown, Te Huna found himself eating some devastating ground-and-pound.

Te Huna was able to escape and bring the fight back to standing position. Once there, he connected a clean uppercut that stunned "The Great." But Marquardt, the much more experienced fighter, capitalized on Te Huna's failure to pounce and proceeded to take guard.

It was all downhill from there, as Marquardt managed to grab on to one of Te Huna's arms in a scramble, and proceeded to lock in a fight-ending armbar. Not only was the loss the third straight for James, it was his third straight via devastating first-round finish.

Different weight class, same result.

The future now looks uncertain for Te Huna, as far as his career as a "UFC fighter" is concerned.

Despite dropping three in a row, they weren't against scrubs. And you can bet plenty of fighters would suffer the same fate if they too were matched up against Glover Teixeira, Mauricio Rua, and Nate Marquardt in consecutive bouts.

Still, the fact remains, dropping them all in the very first round doesn't bode well for Te Huna. But if Marquardt earned another chance to right his ship inside the Octagon after dropping three straight, I expect James to receive one, too, especially considering his recent level of competition.

Having said that, Nick Ring would be a good fight for Te Huna to prove once more that he's far from done. With all due respect, Ring -- who is riding a two-fight losing skid -- is far from being on the level of "Shogun," Teixeira and Marquardt.

Should UFC matchmakers take this route, I wouldn't be surprised -- or upset --  if it was labeled a "loser leaves town" match.

Would you?