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Marquardt pull-out rocks UFC Live, Brenneman steps in

Nate Marquardt had been set for his welterweight debut © Getty Images

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UFC Live has become a cursed card after Nate Marquardt was forced to withdraw from the main event less than 48 hours before he was supposed to fight Rick Story. As a result, Story will now fight Charlie Brenneman.

Marquardt and Story were set to go toe-to-toe in what could have proved a welterweight title eliminator. Both men spoke pre-fight of their belief that victory would earn a shot at champion Georges St-Pierre.

However, team-mate Diego Sanchez sparked fears of the withdrawal when he tweeted to Marquardt: "What happened bro? Heard you are out of the fight?"

Those fears quickly materialised when, just hours before the weigh-ins, Marquardt officially withdrew. The Denver-based fighter's weight cut is the likely cause after it was confirmed that he failed to gain medical clearance for the fight, although his camp would only release the following statement.

"Right now we are going to respect Nate's privacy, his medical privacy," said Kelly Crigger, who is the director of media communications for Alchemist MMA (Marquardt's publicist). "He was just not cleared.

"He should be back in action very soon. He wants to apologize to his fans, friends and family. Nate is very disappointed; he really wanted to make his welterweight debut."

The UFC provided official word on the withdrawal, stating: "Due to late medical licensing issues, Nate Marquardt has been pulled from Sunday's UFC Live main event in Pittsburgh."

The blow to Marquardt comes on the back of Anthony Johnson's original pull-out, which opened the door for Story to enter the card. TJ Grant's battle with Brenneman also had to be pulled, but Brenneman has now been promoted to a bigger fight with Story in a strange twist of fate.

Pat Barry's heavyweight clash with Cheick Kongo now takes on main event status.

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