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2008-04-22 22:57:57
Kalib Starnes Fires Back at Dana White Over UFC 83 Comments and Contract Termination
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It's no secret. Kalib Starnes is not a popular guy right now.
The fighter from Surrey, BC, Canada squared off against Nathan Quarry at UFC 83 - Serra vs. St. Pierre II. The fans from Montreal gave Starnes a rousing ovation when he walked out. There were many pro-Starnes banners and signs in the audience. It seemed as though Starnes had all the momentum in his favor as the fight got under way.
From there, everything went horribly wrong. Starnes spent the entire match back-pedaling and refusing to engage Quarry. The fight ended up in a three-round unanimous decision, with Quarry easily getting the victory. Quarry was so frustrated with the fight that he started mocking Starnes towards the end of the fight. By the time the fight was over, the previously pro-Starnes crowd was booing him as loudly as they possibly could. The announcers were laughing at how poor the performance was. Quarry's corner took some verbal shots at Starnes as well. One of the biggest fights in the career of Kalib Starnes had ended in complete disaster.
The UFC acted quickly, sending out a press release stating that they had cut Starnes from the UFC, and that he ought to find "another line of work."
MMA fans were left scratching their heads. What happened in this match? It's not like Starnes was a complete stiff or anything - he had an impressive 8-2-1 record before this match-up, and had previously appeared on the Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale. He had notched wins over Danny Abbadi and Chris Leben during his stint with the UFC. So what happened?
One theory that was floated was that Starnes had purposely thrown the match in order to protest his contract and medical coverage. Apparently, the rumor said, Starnes had injured himself in a previous match and the UFC had refused to pay for his medical expenses. So, as a way of protesting, Starnes had devised the idea of staging a really bad match. This was just a rumor; a rumor that Starnes ended up forcefully refuting.
According to Starnes, the reason that he was back-pedaling the entire match was because he was injured and didn't want to get "knocked out". According to Starnes, he suffered a broken foot early in the match after he threw a kick at Quarry. He also claimed to have suffered a "sprained jaw" and a black eye. He further went on to say that Quarry had "destroyed" his thigh with repeated kicks.
Starnes then offered to show anyone his medical report, which would validate his injuries.
Starnes was particularly miffed with the reports that the UFC had "cut" Starnes from his deal. According to Starnes, he had been in contact with the UFC after his fight at UFC 83, and had initiated talks to be released from his deal. According to Starnes, the UFC had agreed and was supposed to be in the process of sending him the requisite paperwork when Dana White took to the airwaves and informed the world that Starnes had been cut. Starnes finished by saying that he wished that White had contacted him prior to publicly announcing that the UFC was cutting him.
According to various reports, Starnes is now "retiring" from the world of Mixed Martial Arts fighting.
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