Hopefully for Nate Marquardt, he isn’t one of the 1.4 million followers UFC president Dana White has on Twitter. If he is, then the former middleweight top contender just discovered he was fired from the world’s premier mixed martial arts promotion after reportedly failing his physical to fight Rick Story tomorrow night at “UFC on Versus 4.”
“I’m sure you heard that Nate Marquardt is out,” White stated in a short video clip. “It’s true. He failed his medicals. Not only is he out of this fight, out of the main event on Versus, he will no longer be with the UFC.”
Marquardt owns a solid 31-10-2 professional record, going 10-4 inside the Octagon. After getting trounced by Yushin Okami at UFC 122 for a shot at Anderson Silva’s middleweight title, White dubbed the 32-year-old the ultimate “choker” which prompted his move to the welterweight class.
The UFC has not released any information regarding Marquardt’s condition. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan announced prior to Saturday’s weigh-ins that Marquardt was pulled because he failed his physical.
“Nate the Great’s” camp issued a brief statement to MMAJunkie regarding their client:
“Nate is really disappointed. He really was looking forward to making his welterweight debut, and he plans to be back in there as soon as possible.”
Charlie Brenneman replaced Marquardt and will face Story in tomorrow night’s co-main event. The heavyweight shootout between Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry has been promoted to the card’s featured attraction.
“UFC on Versus 4: Barry vs. Kongo” takes place inside the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.