By John Moody Rain, rain, rain.  Something about rain that is conducive for writing.  Creates a pensive mood here on Broadway and 77^th in the Big Apple. *My first MMA interview was with Kalib Starnes at UFC 71 in Las Vegas.  Starnes beat Chris Leben at that event, the under card of Chuck Liddell v. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.  Oh how Starnes and Leben’s careers have gone in different directions.  Starnes recently lost to Patrick Cote at RingSide MMA 10 in Montreal.  Leben will be in a featured fight against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 132. ...

Looking to reclaim some face, both Kalib Starnes and Patrick Cote will look to re-catapult there careers with a victory over one another in a battle between two-tested veterans. Now that both men are officially in the regional circuit in the mixed martial arts community, their hoping that with a win here, they could make it back to the big leagues. I guess it's just too bad that it's two countryman pitted against one another, with the loser left embarrassed before their native Canada this April. ...

A former UFC contender, Niko Vitale looked like he had seen the twilight of his career. After a venture back to his native Hawaii, Falaniko worked his way through the popular Icon Sport promotion, eventually garnering the organizations' middleweight strap. However, he didn't keep the title too long. When Niko met fellow UFC veteran Robbie Lawler, it seemingly began the descent of this once great fighter. ...

Bellator's middleweight champion Hector Lombard, in his last two fights has spent a combined time of 44 seconds. When are we going to see any of his infamous Judo skills put to the test? Since his inception to the aforementioned organization, Lombard has done everything to solidify himself as contender in the discussions of being a top-10 caliber fighter, one that would make Mike Tyson proud, finishing 4 of his 5 Bellator appearances by way of knockout. ...

With my new running series “Great Moments in MMA History” well underway, I figured it would be an interesting idea to start another new series focusing on the exact opposite: some of the really bad stuff that have happened in the wide world of MMA. Whether it’s saddening, infuriating, or a case of “so bad it’s funny”, “Infamous Moments in MMA History” will look at moments in MMA that are memorable for the controversy they caused or the strong negative reaction they garnered. The inaugural edition features a fight that I’m sure absolutely no one will be surprised to see in a series like this. This single fight will likely haunt this fighter’s career for the rest of his life, and there’s even a popular MMA website based solely on his actions once this fight got underway. In quite possibly the worst case of an MMA fighter simply not wanting to fight, Kalib Starnes vs. Nate Quarry starts off “Infamous Moments in MMA History”. ...

TUF 3 competitor Kalib Starnes (8-3-1) and Icon Middleweight Champion "Kolohe" Kala Hose (7-2) will fight in the Destiny MMA main event in Honolulu 15 November. Starnes rose to infamy during his UD loss to "Rock" Nathan Quarry (10-2) in Montréal 19 April. After breaking his foot, Starnes backpedaled and refused to engage...or, if you prefer, fight Quarry, earning him one judge's score of 30-24.  He parted ways with the UFC after the fight. Hose TKO'd Rolando Dominique (1-1) in Honolulu 2 August, coming off of a rear naked choke loss to "Bubba" Robert McDaniel (11-4) in Honolulu 14 June. Both fighters have demonstrated enormous promise. Starnes won a UD over UFC 89 main event fighter "Crippler" Chris Leben (18-4) in Las Vegas May 2007. In Honolulu 15 March, Hose TKO'd "New York Bad Ass" Phil Baroni (13-10) for Icon's belt. ...

I can defend the reasonable. When middleweight Kalib Starnes (8-3-1) was being derided as a coward after losing to "Rock" Nathan Quarry (10-2) last month, I took his word that he broke his foot early in the fight, tried to look at the fight through his eyes, and posted the best defense I could. Fighters deserve the benefit of the doubt. Wednesday, The Pit boss John Hackleman told Fight Hype, "I talked to the coach at ATT (American Top Team) and they kicked [Kalib Starnes] off." Again, I gave Starnes the benefit of the doubt and, as Fighters.com always does, sought his side of the claim. Starnes told me, "Nobody from American Top Team has contacted me and said any such thing.  What kind of team would turn on you for losing a fight?  Do you think it would be reasonable for them to kick me off of the team for losing?  If they were the type of team who would drop you because you lost a fight or had some bad press, I wouldn't want to be there anyway!" Fine. American Top Team didn't respond to my request for confirmation. Someone needs to tell Starnes when he's said enough. Starnes continued, "If the same people that elected George W. Bush twice and made Britney Spears the most searched name on the Internet think that I'm not a good fighter or a good person because I lost a match, well, I guess that I'll just have to live with that." Huh?  Is that a poke at Americans? Whether or not you like G-Dub or Britney Spears, it was Starnes's fellow Canadians that booed him out of the Octagon, though I'm sure Americans would've been content to do the same. That's not even reasonable. ...

There was one mistake made on the UFC 83 card in Montréal.  Though he's taking the heat, it wasn't made by Kalib Starnes (8-3-1). Starnes's match-up versus "Rock" Nathan Quarry (10-2) should've never been broadcast to begin with. At the risk of sounding like a Monday morning QB, I was confused why it was on the televised portion of the card before the event.  (Easy to say now, huh?) Though Quarry looked much-improved in his February KO of "Drago" Pete Sell (7-4), Starnes got picked apart last October by "The Talent" Alan Belcher (12-5). In an e-mail sent by Starnes to Fighters.com this morning, he contends, "I was then injured in the bout [with Belcher] and received a huge gash on my forehead, which caused the doctor to halt the bout prematurely." Starnes is wrong.  The doctor stoppage in October was entirely warranted because Starnes didn't do enough in the one round with Belcher to convince anyone further punishment may result in a Starnes victory.  Why let a fighter bleed out in the Octagon when there's no evidence he's in there to win? Why then match the same fighter versus a man who proved he's on a mission in his previous fight? At least three other 83 match-ups should've made the broadcast over Quarry v Starnes even before the fights were fought. The all-Canada rematch between "The Athlete" Jason MacDonald (20-9) and "El Dirte" Joe Doerksen (39-12) was bound to be a war. "No Love" Rich Clementi (31-12-1) and "Hands of Stone" Sam Stout (13-4-1) were on surges totaling six straight wins between them before Saturday when Clementi preserved his streak with a unanimous decision. Both "Road Warrior" Jonathan Goulet (22-9) and Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-5) are tough bastards.  Goulet hadn't won or lost in the judges hands in nine straight. The results Saturday night prove my admittedly late assertion. All three "...of the Night" bonuses were awarded to fighters on the untelevised undercard, Goulet and Hironaka winning "Fight of the Night" and MacDonald pocketing 75 grand for "Knockout of the Night". Starnes claims, "Dana White...made comments after the fight insinuating that I would have been better served allowing myself to be knocked out." You've got to wonder if slumping Starnes was matched versus better-than-ever Quarry to serve a highlight reel KO to the broadcast audience? Starnes called Quarry, "...a real monster in the ring, I think that they should keep him in a cave somewhere and feed him raw meat!" Even if that's true, Starnes's performance was embarrassing.  If you don't want to be in the Octagon, don't take the fight. To be fair, I know fighters like Starnes have slim bank accounts and it's not easy to turn down a guaranteed purse.  And, Starnes maintains he had broken his right foot early in the match and was doing all he could to work his jab. All in all, the whole incident is a non-event.  A B-level fighter asks to be released from his contract after a pitiful performance.  Big deal. However, even if I don't particularly care to see Starnes fight again anywhere, it's hard for me to blame anyone who steps in the Octagon. Blame the UFC for a poor match-up that should've never been seen by anyone paying $44.95 for the PPV. ...

UFC middleweight Kalib Starnes (8-3-1) has requested immediate release from his UFC contract. Saturday at UFC 83 in Montréal, Starnes lost a unanimous decision to "The Rock" Nate Quarry (10-2) after avoiding confrontation for three rounds.  After the fight, Starnes, a Canadian, was heavily chided by the Centre Bell crowd of over 21,000. "Fuck you," Starnes replied to his fellow Canadians amidst roaring boos. Quarry won over the crowd with a vigorous performance and was cheered in Montréal. "Joe Silva told me that he would [release me from my contract]," Starnes told Fighters.com, "but, that it would take a couple days for their legal department to complete the process and he would send me the appropriate forms once they were completed. "I couldn't be happier about being released from my UFC contract," Starnes added. ...

Canada welcomed in the UFC Saturday night in Montréal; and, the UFC welcomed back in Canada as "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (16-2) avenged his loss to "The Terror" Matt Serra (9-5) by second-round TKO to capture sole possession of the UFC welterweight title before his countrymen and fellow Quebecois. Former UFC Middleweight Champion and Fighters.com's second-ranked 185-pounder "Ace" Rich Franklin (23-3) also found the land of maple leaf friendly in a second-round TKO of "The Serial Killer" Travis Lutter (9-5). TUF Champions "The Count" Michael Bisping (15-1) and Mac Danzig (18-4-1) debuted in new weight classes with stoppages. Les habitants "The Athlete" Jason MacDonald (20-9), "Dooms" Jason Day (17-5), and Jonathan Goulet (22-9) also had success for the home team, while "The Rock" Nathan Quarry (10-2), Demian Maia (7-0), "No Love" Rich Clementi (31-12-1), and Cain Velasquez (3-0) scored wins as visitors to the true north, strong and free. Though seven of the 11 duels on 83's lineup featured St. Pierre's fellow countrymen, this French-Canadian bon soirwas entirely the Quebecois phenom's. He entered the Octagon blazing a crimson gi with the strength of 22,000 at the Centre Bell. Serra had played a clever villain during the event's promotional tour, but had no quips for "Rush" as St. Pierre packed him into the mat upon stuffing Serra's initial shot. St. Pierre mauled "The Terror" with short, sharp elbows as Serra pedaled through guards, all passed by St. Pierre. Serra finally crawled up the cage to his feet. In the center of the cage, St. Pierre blasted Serra with a Superman punch, setting up a double-leg takedown near the end of round one. Serra, a mouse puffing beneath his right eye, emptied his tank about 90 seconds into round two as "Rush" tagged "The Terror" with five snapping jabs before planting him back onto the mat with a double-leg takedown. St. Pierre's G'n'P onslaught poured on, driving Serra into turtle guard. A series of unanswered rib-rattling knees persuaded referee Steve Mazzagatti to end the fight at 4:45. "I tired him out," explained the best 170-pound fighter in the world. Serra countered, "I ended up coming up short, no pun intended." Welterweights Goulet and Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-5) both pocketed 75 grand for battling the "Fight of the Night" in the card's opening bout. Goulet got the worst of it in the punch-up's first round. Attempting to press his striking advantage, Goulet got tagged with a short Hironaka left hook. The Japanese fighter fell the Canadian and followed with a mix of fists and elbows to close the round. "He tried to finish me," Goulet admitted after the fight, "but he got too excited. I was careful because of my experience." The two fighters traded evenly to open the second before Hironaka was stunned with a punch that backed him to the cage. Goulet stalked with a flurry that dropped his opponent for a TKO at 2:07. In the co-main event, Franklin also rebounded from a lost first round in which Lutter took the former champ to the mat and worked his jiu-jitsu juju. Franklin was nearly tapped in an armbar before he countered in a nifty maneuver that rolled him into Lutter's full guard. Lutter had worn himself weary by the second round and got caught with head kick as he shot for single-leg takedown. Franklin hammered "The Serial Killer" and motioned for the referee to stand him up. "Ace" picked Lutter apart on their feet with a combination of slick boxing and knees until the referree stopped the fight at 3:01 Danzig predicted to Fighters.com that Mark Bocek (5-2) is susceptible to a knee and the debuting 155-pounder delivered three big knees to set Bocek up for a rear naked choke submission at 3:48 of the third round. "I paced myself, and I needed that; because, if I didn't pace myself I wouldn't have been able to do what I did in the last round," Danzig said. His fellow TUF Champion Bisping debuted at 185-pounds with a dominant TKO "W" over "Chainsaw" Charles McCarthy (10-5), who was unable to continue due to an arm injury after round one. "Charles couldn't get up," "The Count" expalined after the fight. Middleweight Quarry chased down a timid Kalib Starnes (8-3-1), who probably ran himself out of the UFC, for a unanimous decision. Middleweight MacDonald added $75,000 to his bank balance with a "(T)KO of the Night" versus Joe Doerksen (39-12) at 54 seconds of the second round. Middleweight Maia also earned 75 grand for "Submission of the Night", a triangle choke of "Short Fuse" Ed Herman (14-5) at 2:27 of round two. Middleweight Day made a successful UFC debut with a 3:58 TKO of "The Talent" Alan Belcher (12-5). Lightweight Clementi ruined Canadian "Hands of Stone" Sam Stout's (13-4-1) homecoming with a split decision victory. Finally, touted heavyweight Velasquez only spent 2:10 in his Octagon debut before TKOing Brad Morris (9-3). ...