No play for Mr. Great: Nate Marquardt got three strikes and now he's out

Twitter has become the unofficial voice of the people.

UFC President Dana White has stated in the past that he's not a big fan of the goofy Internet but Twitter, on the other hand, is where it's at.

That's part of the reason he's still facing questions about Nate Marquardt and his employment status with the world's largest fight promotion.

The perennial title contender was recently suspended by the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission (PAC), removed from his main event fight at UFC on Versus 4 and released from UFC.

In the past few days, a "movement" of sorts has broken out on the popular social networking medium with the hashtag #BringBackNate, of which is in full swing thanks to various Marquardt supporters.

There have been instances in the past that this tactic has worked to sway White from questionable decisions, such as a potential rubber match between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir.

It ain't working this time, though ... at all.

That's because it's three strikes and you're out, kid, you don't get a fourth go at it. Here's how Dana explained it (via MMAWeekly.com):

"To me this is his fourth chance; this would be a fourth chance. He tested positive before, then apparently he was on suspension with New Jersey because his levels were high, then he comes into (Pittsburgh) and he doesn't pass his medicals. Now you tell me is that fourth chance or is that a second chance? Sounds like a fourth chance to me. Nate's a nice guy, he's a real sweet, nice, humble guy, but the facts are the facts," said White. "It's easier to go after a guy like Josh Barnett, you know what I mean? He's just callous and rude and a dick, so it's easier when he does it to just go, you know what? (Expletive) Josh Barnett. The difference is Nate's such a sweet, nice guy with the same results. I literally didn't know that till Thursday, but the people in my organization did. The people who handle the medicals and things like that. I was pretty upset about it when I found out about it on Thursday. If I would have known earlier, I would have made sure it was taken care of differently. Nate's done. I'm done with Nate."

The timeline of events White is making reference to is the fact that Marquardt tested positive for steroids back in 2005 following his Octagon debut win over Ivan Salaverry.

That's strike one.

Then he was put on suspension by the New Jersey Athletic Commission due to issues with his paperwork and high levels of testosterone.

That's strike two.

Of course, the third and final strike came when he was flagged by the PAC and eventually failed to get clearance for his fight against Rick Story this past June 26.

Heeeee's outta there!

And, as you can see, there are currently zero plans to bring him back, no matter how many folks Marquardt gets to campaign on his behalf on Twitter.

Fair or foul on White's part?