The Kalib Starnes Fiasco at UFC 83

The crowd in Montreal had just welcomed another Canadian in the cage and was eagerly awaiting a showdown. Instead, three rounds of potential fighting turned into a 15 minute stall tactic riddled with boos from the crowd and taunts in the cage. British Columbian fighter Kalib Starnes tried to do everything but engage with his opponent, Nate Quarry, during their UFC 83 bout. In the final minute of the fight, an extremely frustrated Quarry began taunting Starnes with his rendition of the running man and started blindly punching the air as he covered his face as if he were Screech from Saved by the Bell. As the final bell did ring, name calling between fighters and their opposing corners rounded out what was to be an unforgettable night for many at the Bell Center in Montreal. So what went wrong?

Let’s take a look at some of the possible scenarios.

Injury: There’s a chance that Starnes entered the cage with a training injury and didn’t want to get hurt worse. We’ve heard of fighters walking into a fight with injuries and not saying a thing. Some of these fighters, like Frank Shamrock, ended up dominating and winning despite their injures while others, like Tim Sylvia, talked about their injury during the post-fight interview, post-fight press conference, or in a later interview. Although many fans and some writers feel that talking about injuries after a loss is just an excuse, it’s still commendable for anyone to step into a fight and risk their bodies because they are committed to truly fighting.

Mentally Unprepared: Hailing from British Columbia, Starnes was, by default, initially favored by the Canadian crowd in Montreal. There’s a lot of pressure when you’re fighting in front of your hometown fans along with potentially a million or more world-wide viewers. Did Starnes mentally break down? As the fight was called by the judges, the camera alternated between Quarry and Starnes. The crowd cheered for Quarry, the American, and booed their Canadian fighter. Ouch.

Gameplan: His last fight against Alan Belcher during UFC 77 ended when a huge cut opened on his head. Was Starnes looking to keep the fight on the ground and away from his face this time? Whatever game plan he had in mind certainly fell apart within minutes as he backpedaled towards an embarrassing 30-24 decision loss. Even worse, he began talking trash to Quarry and his corner before the official decision was being tallied by the judges.

Jumping Ship: Did Starnes want out of the UFC? Was there another promotion offering more money or a better contract? Face it, the UFC offers the big bucks to the big names and some of the smaller names make less than if they were with a smaller rival promotion. Did he already try to negotiate out of his contract with Dana White and the UFC organization only to be told that he had to fight? Did he throw the fight to make the UFC look bad? Perhaps Starnes lost his desire to fight and is done with MMA for good.

Although we’re still waiting to hear what Kalib Starnes has to say about the fight, Dana White has already made his remarks at the post-fight press conference.

“It takes two guys to fight. Nate is the only one to show. If I was fighting in my home country, I’d rather get knocked out than run around like that. I think he’ll wake up tomorrow and wish he fought a different fight.”

Ouch. I doubt we will see Starnes in the UFC again. We may, however, see him in another organization. I’m looking forward to hearing what he has to say about his actions at UFC 83. While I’m thinking this whole debacle was due to an injury or a mental breakdown, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were other reasons for Starnes pitiful performance.