Fired or Free?

"Former UFC middleweight Kalib Starnes, a cast member from "The Ultimate Fighter 3" who suffered a lopsided unanimous-decision loss to Nate Quarry at UFC 83, says he asked to be released from the UFC -- before UFC president Dana White told Yahoo Sports that he had been cut from the organization.

In a UFC 83 televised bout, Starnes continually backpeddled from his opponent, and the Canadian crowd turned on the British Columbia fighter during the lackluster performance.

In a post-event press conference, White said that Starnes would regret the performance, which resulted in scores of 30-27, 30-26 and an extremely rare 30-24. After the fight, cameras caught Starnes yelling an obscenity and a deragoratory gay reference to members of Quarry's corner.

The following day, White told Yahoo! Sports that Starnes had been cut from the organization.

However, Starnes said that the story came out only after he asked Joe Silva to terminate his contract, which the organization was willing to do."



The UFC has parted ways with Kalib Starnes after his “performance” at UFC 83.
Through the video posted above it is apparent that Starnes truely has nobody to blame but himself. I mean if your considering yourself a UFC Fighter, then why are you in the ring backing away from the fight? This leaves me puzzled and explains why the crowd in Canada spent the rest of the fight trying to boo Starnes off the platform.

Quarry, starnes opponent in the ring was quoted during the match saying:
“I think if you’re fighting in the UFC, you’ve got to come to fight,” Quarry told UFC.com. "I would much rather get knocked out than lose a decision running backwards.”

Quarry makes an extremely valid point with this comment and contains a view that coincides with that of the UFC President Dana White, which was quoted with saying:
“He just doesn’t belong in the UFC and after his performance the other night, he should consider a new line of work.”

As the UFC gains popularity in media as well as sports entertainment, it is imperative that all decisions made are productive and done so, in an attempt to further the growth of the sport. In my opinion, firing a fighter which does not fit the UFC ideals, perform well, promote the company's image or at least provide entertainment... well, he SHOULD be fired.