Nate Marquardt released from UFC

[The Best]

From Yahoo Sports

A representative for Nate Marquardt announced that the fighter was not medically cleared for his UFC on Versus 4 bout against Rick Story. The representative would not disclose the reasons for Marquardt's lack of clearance.

Charlie Brenneman, who was supposed to fight T.J. Grant on this card until he pulled out with illness earlier this week, will now face Rick Story. Pat Barry's bout with Cheick Kongo has been promoted to the main event.

UPDATE: According to this video from UFC president Dana White, Marquardt is not just off the card, but is also cut from the UFC. The UFC VP of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner would not comment on the situation but said that the Pennsylvania athletic commission will release a statement.

Marquardt had been with the UFC since 2005. As one of the first fighters to find success with Greg Jackson, the highly touted MMA trainer, Marquardt went 10-4. He fought for the UFC middleweight title in 2007, but was TKOed by Anderson Silva.

This weekend, he was cutting down to welterweight for the first time as a UFC fighter, and mentioned often how natural the cut felt and that he was more energetic than ever before. The news that he was not fighting surprised the crowd gathered at Heinz Field to watch the weigh-ins, who were given the news via a statement read by UFC commentator Joe Rogan.

Brenneman, a native of western Pennsylvania, was already in shape for his bout with Grant. He gleefully took the scales wearing a Steelers hard hat and made weight with no problem. Now, he will take on Story, who is on one of the UFC's longest win streaks. His six wins in a row put him just behind champions Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva.

Story took the bout on short notice, after Anthony Johnson withdrew because of an injury. Story's last bout was less than a month ago, as he won a decision over Thiago Alves at UFC 130. He didn't seem concerned by the change, as he tweeted, "Marquardt's out Brenneman is in no big deal. I'm here to fight and kick [expletive]."

Unbelievable, one day this guy is said as the next big thing, and the next, he's released. If anyone is wondering, here's Dana's video: http://www.tout.com/m/nsphwl#. Marquardt is 31-10, and was making his debut at welterweight tomorrow, and now (as the article said) New Jersey's Charlie Brenneman will step in and fight Rick Story in a very important fight at 170. I would love to see hoe this plays out since Marquardt and his camp have yet to comment.

 

[INDYjon22]

I wouldn't go as far as saying Marquardt was going to be the next big thing in the Welterweight division. But, it was going to be interesting to see how he did with the new division and the weight cut. I am now far more interested in finding out why exactly he was cut. The weight cut and drugs have both been denied as reasons he was released and based on the fact that Marquardt wasn't medically cleared to fight, it leads me to believe he may have caught something, ala Diego Sanchez a few years ago when his career was almost ended. It will be very interesting to see why Nate was cut and where he goes from here.

 

[PsychoBlack]

My guess as to why he was released is that he had some kind of communicable disease. In a sport like MMA you just cant have that when there is blood dripping everywhere and your always on top of another guy, It's just not safe. I hope the Nate Marquardt marathon still comes on Spike today though

 

[Turd Ferguson]

The only thing Nate was going to be "The Next Big Thing" was as far as being a gatekeeper. The dude sucks against wrestlers, and Story would have had the blueprint to beat him soundly. He would have gotten dominated against the likes of Koscheck and Fitch too.

Really interested to see what the story is with him being cut though. All indications are that he was going to be on weight. It has to be steroids. People can talk about how Dana has been supportive of Sonnen and how it's hypocritical for Dana to cut Marquardt and keep Sonnen around... but Sonnen didn't ruin a main event and stall the growth of a prospect who took a fight on short notice. It would also be the second time Marquardt got busted for roids.

Bellator will likely snap him up and he'll be a huge feather in the cap for Ben Askren after he wrestles him for five rounds.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I'm not too upset, although he's had good fights in the past, recently he's been boring me. I was excited to see how he managed at welterweight but now we'll have to wait or we'll never know.
As for why he was cut I must say I am very curious, if I had to guess the most logical explanation would be what Lloyd said. Not only is this the second time with Marquardt, but Sonnen at least had a legitimate reason to be on roids where Nate doesn't have any excuses. I think Dana needed to make an example of Marquardt to say ,"Hey, cut the shit. If you get caught using any illegal substances you aren't gonna be suspended, you're gonna get fuckin fired".