Cagewriter - UFC

It was a great night for mixed martial arts on Saturday in Montreal, as an enthusiastic sellout crowd of 21,390 packed the Bell Centre to watch hometown hero Georges St. Pierre reclaim the UFC welterweight title from Matt Serra at UFC 83.

It wasn't such a good night, though, for Kalib Starnes, who spent most of the evening running from Nate Quarry in their middleweight bout. A native of Surrey, B.C., Starnes was booed heavily by the Canadian crowd that had been boisterous in its support of all the other Canadians on the card.

After losing a unanimous decision on scores of 30-26, 30-27, and an unheard-of 30-24, Starnes received even worse news: He was cut from his contract by UFC president Dana White.

"He just doesn’t belong in the UFC and after his performance the other night, he should consider a new line of work," White said Monday.

Quarry pressed the action the entire fight as Starnes simply circled and refused to engage. Late in the third round, Quarry pretended to run like he was a track star in trying to find a way to get Starnes to fight.

After the bout, members of Quarry's corner were complaining to Starnes about his lack of activity. Starnes shouted an expletive at one member of Quarry's team and called him a derogatory term for homosexuals.

Starnes couldn't be reached for comment about his performance, but Quarry expressed disappointment with Starnes' lack of effort.

A one-time contestant on The Ultimate Fighter, Starnes was 8-2 going into the bout and had had quality victories over Chris Leben and Jason MacDonald.

"I think if you're fighting in the UFC, you've got to come to fight," Quarry told UFC.com in a post-fight interview. "I would much rather get knocked out than lose a decision running backwards. No disrespect to Kalib. I know the stress really gets to you. A lot of guys, they focus on not wanting to lose instead of wanting to win. I didn't mean to disrespect him in any way. I just got frustrated because you can't fight when somebody's moving backward that fast."

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  1. Brian (yetihunter)
    1. Posted by Brian (yetihunter) Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:53 pm EDT

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    starnes was 8-2 with wins over leben and macdonald? and then he basically refused to fight quarry in this one? maybe he had the flu or something? seems strange....
  2. Johnny!!!
    2. Posted by Johnny!!! Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:48 pm EDT

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    If I remember right there was some questions about his heart when he said "no mas" on TUF....and then didnt he exchange words with his corner after that stoppage from the cut on his head that was so bad you could see his skull?
    Something tells me Kalib has had questions about his heart and desire before this.
    Sad representation from a Canadian - I can say that for sure.
  3. 1
    3. Posted by 1 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:49 pm EDT

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    I loved how he challenged Quarry's trainer to a fight after spending three rounds avoiding one. Good luck being the toughest guy working at McDonalds.
  4. Chuck M
    4. Posted by Chuck M Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:25 pm EDT

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    that was without a doubt the worst display of cowardice i've ever seen in the ufc. and i've watched them since the very first one. dana white made the right decision on this one.
  5. Chuck M
    5. Posted by Chuck M Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:25 pm EDT

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    that was without a doubt the worst display of cowardice i've ever seen in the ufc. and i've watched them since the very first one. dana white made the right decision on this one.
  6. nathan
    6. Posted by nathan Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:33 pm EDT

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    I can honestly say that the fault was one the person picking the fight matchups. His desire was in question during the whole TUF show. They should quit picking fighters because the card is being held in the fighters hometown.
  7. Wraith
    7. Posted by Wraith Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:49 pm EDT

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    The word going around is that that was going to be Starnes last fight anyway and it was his way of protesting underpayment by Dana White and the UFC.... Made the comment that the UFC didn't even help cover medical expenses incurred by damage in the Octagon. My opinion, If you don't like what your job pays.... Find another job. Many of the fighters do it because that's where there heart is and it's not a bad deal to get a paycheck for it to. But I think a stink got started about money after the Mir/Lesnar fight.
  8. Jeff R
    8. Posted by Jeff R Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:42 pm EDT

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    "it was his last fight under his ufc contract... he was mad that ufc did not help with his medical expenses from this last fight... so this was a f you to dana white
    he will be signing with elite x soon,,,"
    umm... canada has free healthcare.
  9. hachiroku
    9. Posted by hachiroku Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:15 pm EDT

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    kalib should get cut. WORST FIGHT EVER.
  10. g e
    10. Posted by g e Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:24 pm EDT

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    If that's true about Starnes not engaging because of his pay, that's the absolute stupidest thing he could have possibly done. The whole MMA world thinks he's a p***y now. You don't like your pay? Don't accept a fight, don't rip off 22,000 people who came to see a fight. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up in Elite XC, they'll take any UFC reject.
  11. Wraith
    11. Posted by Wraith Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:49 pm EDT

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    #10 Jeff R......... You know what, you're right that didn't even occurr to me. He doesn't have to pay his medical bills any d@mn way. What's he crying about???
  12. Sean Y
    12. Posted by Sean Y Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:56 pm EDT

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    Starnes is a wannabe and deserved to be cut after that sorry performance. I was hoping for Quarry to land a solid hook while Starnes was running away. Let Elite XC take him...think they are going to pay him more than the UFC does?
  13. Wraith
    13. Posted by Wraith Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:49 pm EDT

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    #22 Good point.... Says a lot about what he thinks of the fans that paid millions to watch. If he slides over to Elite, I d@mn sure won't tune in. He may as well have tattooed PUNK on his forehead.
  14. Patrón
    14. Posted by Patrón Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:01 pm EDT

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    I doubt Elite will even sign him
  15. Ced
    15. Posted by Ced Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:20 pm EDT

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    If Starnes was discontent, he should've had take it up with UFC in the office. When he phoned it in fighting Quarry in the ring, he disrespected his fans and the fighting community as well. Plus everybody in the industry will have this particular match in their back pocket during negotiations. Essentially, he's given everyone a perfectly good reason to lowball him on offers when his actions were protesting his low wages. I understand that Dana White likes to underpay fighters, but if Kalib Starnes had more respect for his craft, he could've taken a higher road in the situation. Instead he turned himself the biggest black sheep in the UFC/MMA community since Travis Lutter failed to make weight.
  16. Holli Molli
    16. Posted by Holli Molli Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:20 pm EDT

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    "So this was a F you to Dana White
    He will be signing with Elite X soon,,,"
    But who will want to pay to see Kalib Starnes on a card when he was running backwards even when Quarry made himself vulnerable while poking fun at Starnes? Not me.
  17. dkz21
    17. Posted by dkz21 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:45 pm EDT

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    Wow! What a weekend. I was actually staying at the Marriott where the fighters were and it was so funny; a lot of people (including myself and my friends) were lining up to shake hands with Nate Quarry and APOLOGIZE FOR BOOING HIM. LOL. I even named him an honorary Canadian.
  18. Wraith
    18. Posted by Wraith Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:49 pm EDT

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    #20 Why were you booing him to begin with, because he wasn't Canadian?
  19. Wraith
    19. Posted by Wraith Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:49 pm EDT

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    #20 Why were you booing him to begin with, because he wasn't Canadian?
  20. SueB
    20. Posted by SueB Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:47 pm EDT

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    Tito's last fight with UFC is in May and I can guarantee he won't run from anyone!
  21. Lew B
    21. Posted by Lew B Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:50 pm EDT

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    There is no dispute between Kalib and the UFC over salary. His agent confirmed this on the Beatdown. It was just some crap a guy made up in a forum.
  22. JAMES
    22. Posted by JAMES Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:34 pm EDT

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    The only thing I can think of is that Kalib was sick or injured and had too much pride to pull out. If that were the case he should have taken a KO or not answered the bell after the first round. I don't buy the story that he was mad at the UFC for low pay.
  23. tonistarks
    23. Posted by tonistarks Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:26 pm EDT

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    #10, hilarious. But he prob lives in Vegas or something like that.
  24. Shawn B
    24. Posted by Shawn B Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:15 pm EDT

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    Starnes is a complete embarrassment to Canada, the UFC, and MMA in general. This guy should never be allowed to ever fight in MMA again, period.
  25. Scott B
    25. Posted by Scott B Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:30 pm EDT

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    Starns proved he was a wuss on TUF, he just solidified it here. If EliteXC signs him it will lose them many fans, I don't believe they will.
    I didn't see the fight, but was glad to see Ed Herrman lost his fight too. He is another from that TUF season that I thought wasn't able to cut the mustard in the UFC.
    OK, enough of the negative......
    Bisping proved on TUF he is a fighter, glad to see him perform well, would like to see him win a couple more at 185 then fight Anderson Silva.....even thogh it seems Silva is unstoppable.
    Danzig had a very nice showing, as did Rich Franklin. Maybe Franklin and Bisping can fight next.....I don't think Franklin deserves another shot at Silva for quite a while though.
    What was wrong with Lutter......he must be good, but obviously doesn't take it serious enough to prepare properly......send him packing with Starns Dana.

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