UFC 83: "Serra vs. St. Pierre 2" had it all: Record attendance, quickest sell-out, crazy fans and from what I can ever remember, the first ever 30-24 scorecard.
Of course, the dubious score was one of the three given in the unanimous decision for Nate Quarry over Kalib Starnes in a fight that has ignited a wave of criticism from fans and promoter (UFC President Dana White) alike.
There's been a lot of back-and-forth about what happened -- rather waht didn't happen -- inside the Octagon last Saturday night. Kalib recently released a statement in response to all of the negative press he has been receiving since his poor performance.
Here’s a snip:
"… 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…"
Kalib also commented on the backlash he received from fans:
"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."
He continues on in his statement about breaking his foot during the fight and simply being out classed by Nate Quarry, who subsequently stole all of the "Rocky" banter that Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra were tossing back and forth by becoming the hero in his opponent’s backyard.
"If I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!." Classic.
Anyway, to check out Starnes' complete statement click here. This hopefully is the last we hear about this situation; however, something tells me we're not that fortunate.
Sean McManus is the Director of Media Relations for MMACanada.net. For more information on the MMA scene up in Canada check out MMACanada.net.
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