Well, here's Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney to dash those hopes, courtesy of an interview with MMA Junkie:
The reality is that it's not often that a top-10 guy is available... especially when he's coming off a win. Nate's situation was pretty unique. It's an anomaly for a guy like that to become available, so we had discussions. But it just became pretty clear it wasn't the right fit.
Rebney states that they did have discussions about bringing Marquardt in to Bellator, but could not come to terms. Apparently one of the stumbling blocks was the Bellator tournament format, as Rebney stated that, for Marquardt to receive a title shot at either Middleweight champion Hector Lombard or Welterweight champion Ben Askren, he would have to win a qualifying tournament. Bellator has tournaments in both divisions set to begin in August, with the Welterweight match-ups already set, and 7 out of 8 Middleweight tournament participants confirmed.
Rebney: "[W]e're pretty far down the process. If Nate had been available a few months back, maybe things would be different."
He leaves the door open for Marquardt joining Bellator in the future, but it won't happen at the moment.
This is definitely more unfortunate news for Nate, as the consensus top 10 Middleweight suddenly finds his options for future fights extremely limited. He will likely need to look outside the US for now and consider fights in Canada, Europe, or in the struggling Japanese scene. Japan would actually be a good fit for him stylistically, but organizations there are facing serious financial struggles which will make it difficult to come to terms.
For now, Nate will have to choose between taking a big step down in the level of organization he competes for, or sitting it out and hoping to get back into Dana or Rebney's good graces. Not a good position for the former top contender.