Nate Marquardt released by UFC, suspended indefinitely by Pennsylvania Athletic Commission

It may not have been the tell-all for which we were hoping, but the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission (PAC) today held its press conference today concerning Nate Marquardt and the failed medical issue that forced him to withdraw from the UFC on Versus 4 main event tonight and subsequently got him cut from the promotion.

Strict medical privacy laws prevented the PAC from detailing the precise reason it disallowed Marquardt from fighting Rick Story in the main event; however, it did reveal that he, as well as the  promotion, had more than six weeks notice to correct it.

"The Great" was suspended indefinitely pending his dealing with the issue.

Here's an excerpt from PAC Executive Director, Greg Sirb (via MMAWeekly.com):

"Nate has known for probably about a month and a half. He knew the situation. It was no surprise. Everybody (including the UFC) knew. Everybody's known. I think everybody assumed he was going to be able to qualify.... We gave him as much leeway as we could. Obviously we've got a live event, you've got to make the call. The UFC made the call when we said no he's not going to meet it.... Pretty straight forward stuff. He had to meet these requirements and there were no and, if, or buts about it and unfortunately he did not.... We can't say anything. This state is real tight on those types of laws. HIPPA laws are very strict. If Nate's here, I don't know if he's here or not, he's free to talk."

Marquardt has yet to make an official statement, other than to take to Twitter.com to say he is "heart broken," "sorry," and that fans still need to tune in tonight to watch the live event, which is now headlined by a heavyweight fight between Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry.

His camp is expected to issue a canned statement on the pre-fight Versus telecast, which begins at 8 p.m. ET, an hour before the televised action begins. 

Regardless, company president Dana White announced that Marqaurdt has been released from the UFC. While everything is pure speculation at this point, it would seem Marquardt's inability to deal with whatever issue he has in time to fight on Versus tonight was enough to cause his firing.

Stay tuned for further updates to this story, as Versus pre-fight show is expected to feature a statement from Marquardt's camp regarding the situation.