After getting lambasted by the MMA community for his less than spectacular performance against Nate Quarry at UFC 83 Kalib has released an official statement. RawVegas.com has picked up the story and posted the entire release on their site. Here is a snippet:
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.
Honestly I have no sympathy for Starnes. Kalib has been given the amazing opportunity to fight with biggest organization in the fastest growing sport in the world. So he broke his foot during the fight, boo hoo. This is mixed martial arts and injuries are part of the sport, deal with it. See Kurt Pelligrino as his tooth actually busted a hole through his skin during a fight, leaving a hole just below his bottom lip. Did this slow him down, hell no.
Also, remember the time Kalib quit in the middle of a fight on The Ultimate Fighter due to a rib injury? Dana White should have learned his lesson then. Get this guy out of the UFC and make room for fighters who are truly hungry and will do all they can to put on a good fight.
Check out the full Kalib Starnes release here.
