Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

Last Saturday night at UFC 83, Kalib Starnes fought Nate Quarry to a unanimous decision loss. In the span of 15 minutes, Starnes went from hero to villain in front of his countrymen due to what the Bell Centre crowd perceived to be a lack of action. The performance eventually led to his UFC release and caused a storm of backlash from fans and media.

In the days since the bout, Starnes reached out to NBCSports.com to give his side of the story. Starnes originally agreed to an interview, which was cut short due to a doctor's visit. During that time, the 33-year-old who came to prominence during his time on The Ultimate Fighter 3 voiced his surprise at the treatment he was receiving over the loss.

"To me it's outrageous," he said. "It's a fight; I lost a fight. You think I'd killed the president or something. I'm on the front page [of various websites] like I've done something completely heinous. All I did was lose the fight. I don’t think that I deserve to have my character called into question because of a poor athletic performance."

Starnes, who is 8-3-1 in his pro MMA career, also took exception to comments made by UFC President Dana White following the bout. In the post-fight press conference, White told the media, "If I was Kalib Starnes and I was fighting in my own home country, I'd rather get knocked out than run around in circles the whole fight." White later told Yahoo.com, "He just doesn’t belong in the UFC and after his performance the other night, he should consider a new line of work."

Starnes responded, "I felt his comments particularly following the bout, that I should've allowed myself to be knocked unconscious and let myself suffer traumatic injury as an honorable way to leave the match was really uncalled for and ignorant. I really doubt that Mr. Dana White, who has never had a fight in his life, would be willing to step in the ring and allow himself to be knocked unconscious by a man like Nate Quarry for the $10,000 I was paid."

In the days since the original interview, Starnes decided he would rather release a statement to NBCSports.com on his performance, the injuries he suffered in the fight, and the aftermath, which is printed below in its entirety.

Kalib Starnes' statement
“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!

I regret having to discuss this matter in the press, and would have preferred to discuss it 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.

Video   MMA Fight Weekly: Fallout from UFC 83 April 24: Matt Serra says GSP flat-out kicked his butt, while Kalib Starnes was let go from the UFC after his performance. NBC Sports

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.

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.

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.

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 Hilton's 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? And finally, Which is better, chocolate or vanilla?

I have been asked to appear on [HDNet's] Inside MMA Friday to discuss it further. I will make copies of my medical records relating to UFC 83 available upon request.”

The aftermath
Starnes faces a wide-open future. His time in the UFC is done, but he still plans to continue to fighting, telling NBCSports.com, "I've made it to a level most fighters can only dream of. I've beaten two of the best middleweights in the world, Chris Leben and Jason MacDonald. I've appeared on three live UFC pay per view cards. I've already received offers to fight again and you can bet that the people will watch, to see if I can win, or to see me lose again so they can say, 'I told you so.'"

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