In a bizarre turn of events, ‘UFC on Versus 4' headliner Nate Marquardt has been scratched from the card and released from the UFC. Promotion head Dana White posted a video on his official twitter account confirming the shocking news.
"I'm sure you heard that Nate Marquardt is out," White said. "It's true. He failed his medicals. Not only is he out of this fight, and out of the main event on Versus, he will no longer be with the UFC."
No further information has been revealed to the public regarding the organization's decision. The former middleweight contender has yet to speak publicly on the matter.
The announcement comes a day before the UFC's fourth broadcast on Versus, initially intended to feature Marquardt's debut in the welterweight division. The UFC, and cable partner SPIKE, will likely stand to lose quite a bit of money in the aftermath after extensively marketing the fight and planning a ten-hour ‘Marquardt Marathon' to be aired throughout Sunday as a lead-in to the event.
His intended opponent, Rick Story, is now scheduled to face last-minute fill-in Charlie Brenneman. Pat Barry vs. Cheick Kongo has been declared the new headlining bout.
The cut marks the end of a long and tumultuous relationship between Marquardt and the UFC. Always a contender, ‘The Great' never was able to break through, falling just short in several high-profile disappointing bouts. In the past White made headlines by remarking that he felt the middleweight was ‘a choker' due to his erratic performances. Marquardt had 14 bouts in the UFC since his 2005 promotional debut, including a fight against Anderson Silva in 2007 for the middleweight title.