So Kalib Starnes is claiming that his "Running Man" performance at UFC 83 was a deliberate protest against the UFC. Starnes was on the last fight of his contract. He was featured in a middleweight bout against Nate 'The Rock' Quarry in Montreal where he delivered a lackluster performance, spending the majority of the fight refusing to engage Quarry and backpedaling in circles to keep him away. In his last fight Starnes was injured by Alan "The Talent" Belcher. The fight was stopped because of a major gash on Kalib's head. The UFC refused to pay his medical bills for the injury--which is something the UFC refuses to do for any of their fighters, reportedly. Kalib took it out on the Montreal fans by "fighting safe" so as not to get himself injured. He is trying to shed light on the UFC's practice of not providing medical coverage for their fighters. Supposedly Dana White's big fight bonuses for the night were meant to deliberately overshadow the real issue that Starnes was trying to raise. Take this all with a grain of salt, though. In related news, Kalib will not be re-signed by the UFC, and Dana White said this about his last performance: 'He just doesn't belong in the UFC and after his performance the other night, he should consider a new line of work.'
He's Canadian!! he gets free health care!! he's also a gutless pud who came out as a whimp on TUF and I could care less if I ever see him fight again. gawd why did I outhink myself and NOT take Quarry... I flipped my pick on that fight and Herman vs Maia thinking Maia may have the 'UFC' jitters. ah well live and learn.
more on starnes. Here's what he said in an interview with The Fight Network today <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Starnes claims he asked for release Or so he told The Fight Network: “[UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva told me that it usually takes a couple of days for their legal department to complete the paperwork and that he would send me all of the paperwork to indicate that my contract has been dissolved,” Starnes said. “Later on in the afternoon, after I had spoken to Joe Silva, a story was released by some reporter from Yahoo! in which Dana White said that he had released me from my contract. I received no documentation on that, and it came after I asked to be released.” Kalib Starnes claims to have asked for his release after sustaining injuries early in the fight against Nate Quarry that stopped him from being effective from that point forward. He claims for the paltry $10,000 he was making that picking up five injuries just wasn’t worth it. “Dana White wouldn’t stand and trade with a guy [like Quarry] who had an 80 or 90 percent knockout ratio with injuries like I had Saturday night,” Starnes said. “He wouldn’t cross the street for $10,000. I don’t have anything to prove to anybody. I’m not about to stand there and get smashed to pieces. After I knew my foot was broken, I was trying to back up and work off the jab and keep moving so I didn’t get knocked out.” Even if all of this injury news is true I have a hard time believing the casual fan is going to find it in their heart to forgive Kalib for a performance that will go down in the ages. You might have only made $10,000 but try telling that to a guy that shelled out $45 to watch that unfold for fifteen minutes. Kalib went out with a parting shot at Dana: “All of these comments come from a man that has never had a fight in his entire life who claims to be the ultimate authority on fighting and courage.” Well even if you’re hating Kalib right now you have to admit he’s kind of got him there. I’ve never quite looked at it the same since Dana was talking about a guy (Matt Arroyo?) on The Ultimate Fighter not being a fighter or warrior because he pulled out of a fight with cracked ribs. Yeah, let’s see how you’d do. It’s one thing to know your sport and run it well, it’s another to question manhoods when you can’t do what they do in the first place. Well, except maybe Starnes. I think he could definitely do that.</div> I agree about the comment on Dana. Dana regularly questions fighters motivation all of the time and yet he's never fought, let alone fought injured. found another account of the interview <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Kalib Starnes requested release from UFC by MMAjunkie.com Staff [mmajunkie-staff] on Apr 22, 2008 at 1:22 pm in - News - Former UFC middleweight Kalib Starnes, a cast member from "The Ultimate Fighter 3" who suffered a lopsided unanimous-decision loss to Nate Quarry at UFC 83, says he asked to be released from the UFC -- before UFC president Dana White told Yahoo! Sports that he had been cut from the organization. In a UFC 83 televised bout, Starnes continually backpeddled from his opponent, and the Canadian crowd turned on the British Columbia fighter during the lackluster performance. In a post-event press conference, White said that Starnes would regret the performance, which resulted in scores of 30-27, 30-26 and an extremely rare 30-24. After the fight, cameras caught Starnes yelling an obscenity and a deragoratory gay reference to members of Quarry's corner. The following day, White told Yahoo! Sports that Starnes had been cut from the organization. However, Starnes said that the story came out only after he asked Joe Silva to terminate his contract, which the organization was willing to do. Starnes also questioned White's integrity. "In my opinion, it was inappropriate to make public statements regarding my character and my future and so on the way that he has, especially without having the courage and the respect to call me up and speak with me personally," Starnes told The Fight Network. "All of these comments come from a man that has never had a fight in his entire life who claims to be the ultimate authority on fighting and courage. I couldn't be happier than to be released from the most oppressive contract I've ever been under in my life." Starnes also told The Fight Network that he broke his foot early in the fight, which prompted his hesitation to engage with Quarry.</div> broke his foot eh... he sure could backpeddle on it quite well. If that was the case he shoulda just thrown in the towel if he couldn't fight.. what's the point of doing what he did???
further update on the Stanes fiasco.. is he covering his butt? unlikely, some of the shit flying out there is a bit over the top. Still if he was injured such that he couldn't engage.. he should have stopped at the end of the round he broke his foot IMO> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Following one of the most contentious performances of 2008, middleweight Kalib Starnes has released a statement regarding his fight with Nate Quarry at UFC 83. Irked by what he characterized as inaccurate accounts of his status with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Starnes also promises to release details on the injuries he sustained in the fight. Below is Starnes' statement as sent to MMAWeekly.com: "I would like to begin by saying that I was very happy to fight in Montreal, and that I trained really hard for my fight. I know that there were many people, including myself, who were disappointed with my performance, and I would like to apologize to my coaches, trainers and the fans for what happened. It was by far the worst fight of my career, much to the credit of my opponent who proved to be a real monster in the ring, I think that they should keep him in a cave somewhere and feed him raw meat! During the fight I received a broken bone in my right foot and I find out tomorrow if I need to have surgery and get a pin put through it so that it will heal properly. I also have severe bruising on my left thigh, lumps on my head, a fat black eye, a sprained jaw and damage to the nerves in my molars. My injuries weren't enough to satisfy Dana White, who made comments after the fight insinuating that I would have been better served allowing myself to be knocked out. Comments which prompted me to ask to be released from my contract. Those commenting on my performance and wondering why I asked to be released from my contract, a contract which they had repeatedly refused to renegotiate, should keep in mind how fighters are compensated by the UFC. In my last fight for example I was coming off a win against one of the UFC's top middleweights Chris Leben. I trained for over three months for the fight, with all expenses coming out of my own pocket. Food, travel, accommodations, supplements, equipment, coaching, and cornermen. The athletic commission requires a pre fight medical exam, blood tests, eye exam, and often an EKG, ECG, MRA/ MRI, or CT scan. All of these expenses are mandatory, and are incurred by the athlete. I was then injured in the bout and received a huge gash on my forehead, which caused the doctor to halt the bout prematurely. The cut became infected and I spent about two and a half months recovering, during which time I was unable to work or generate any income. The UFC, a company which earned hundreds of millions of dollars that year, paid me less than $5,000. You should also keep in mind that I was fighting for the sixth time for the organization and my second time on live PPV, on an event which generated tens of millions of dollars. In short I paid somewhere between $20,000 to $30,000 dollars for the privilege of having my head split open. For him to come out and make a statement like that as though I should be willing to suffer a brain injury while being paid less than $10,000 is beyond comment. How much is a brain injury worth anyway? Since the fight, extremely biased articles and commentary have appeared everywhere; articles which were of course reprinted quite extensively by those lacking the imagination to make up their own lies. Accusations flew and continue to fly about every aspect of my life and character. I've heard reports that I appeared on a radio show in Montreal attacking the UFC, that I threw the fight in protest, that I've been abandoned by my team over my performance, that I escaped from a polygamist colony in Texas as a child, that I was homeless for years surviving on nothing but peyote caps and good intentions, etc, etc. I've been bombarded by questions from every media organization you can imagine. You'd think that I had knocked up Britney Spears, or strangled Paris Hiltons pet Chihuahua. They ask me clever questions like: Why would you want to be released from your UFC contract? Were you injured? What was it like on that reality show? Exactly what is a ‘hollaback girl’? Do lion-tiger hybrids (ligers) really exist? Which is better, chocolate, or vanilla? And finally; Why is your cardio always in question?" But I don't answer them, ‘I just light my cigarette, and smile.’ I have been asked to appear on Inside MMA Friday to discuss it further. If you're confused about the quote, look it up. I will make copies of my medical records relating to UFC 83 available upon request. I regret having to discuss this matter in the press, and would have preferred to discuss this matter in private. I was not given this opportunity and feel as though I was forced into a position where I had to respond publicly to the pointed and biased case building against me in the press. Regardless of my dissatisfaction with my contract, I will say that to the best of my knowledge the UFC honored all agreements made with me while I was under contract with them. I do not blame the UFC in any way for my loss, and I hold no grudges against Nate Quarry or his corner. This sport is as much about losing as it is about winning. There is a winner and a loser in every fight. I tried to win but on that night I couldn't do it and I lost. Instead of allowing me to lose with dignity I was booed and called names and ridiculed beyond anything which seems reasonable to me. I tried to box with him and I couldn't find my range, I tried to kickbox with him and I broke my foot, I tried to take him down and grapple with him but I was unable to, I tried to work in the clinch but that didn't work either, in short, I failed. No excuses. "</div>
