Q: What was your corner telling you in between rounds?
A: This is first time I've really listened to my corner. In my last fight [against Pete Sell], they were telling me what to do, but I was a zombie, because Pete was hitting me in the head so much I didn't know what was going on.

In this fight, I could hear the fans booing, but I didn't feel they were booing me. I felt they were booing Kalib, so I started booing, too. That was my way of saying 'I'm not happy with the fight, either." But as soon as I sat down, my coaches told me to knock that off. They just started telling me about combos I should be throwing, and how to set them up and land them. Just great advice about what combinations to work.

Q: At one point, I heard the referee ask for more action, but was there ever a threat to take away points?
A: I don’t recall him saying he'd take away a point, but as you said, I remember him saying, "More action! More action!"

I remember thinking, "Man, I'm doing the best I can, but I'm moving forward now." That's one of my problems with referees, is they don't call out the name of the person they're talking to. When he says, "Action!" I'm thinking, "What's wrong with what I'm doing?" I remember in my last fight, the ref said not to grab his shorts. I looked up and said, "I'm not grabbing his shorts." And he said, "I wasn't talking to you." So I said, "Well, that would be kind of cool to know."

Q: You guys put a lot of time and effort into preparing. How frustrated were you to get out there and have that crowd reaction, regardless of whose fault it was?
A: Immediately after the fight, [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva came into the ring and I told him, "Joe, I'm sorry, I tried to finish. I tried to make it exciting." Dana White came in, and I said the same thing. Both of them said, "Hey, you pushed the action, you tried to make it exciting. In retrospect, I would've loved a knockout win or submission. But the exposure I've gotten through this, and the feedback I got from fans has been great. I've had fans tell me, "Thanks for making MMA fun again. You had me laughing and cracking up."

That's always been one of my complaints about pro athletes. Yeah, when we're in the ring, I'm going to do everything possible to finish that guy off. When I'm outside of the ring, I'm not the same guy. I'm not on the razor's edge. I don't want people being scared of me. That's not my thing. It was cool to bring part of my personality in towards the end of the fight and the interview and let people know, I'm just like you. You're sitting there watching this? Well, I'm in the middle of the cage watching this and I'm just as frustrated as you. So if you're cracking jokes, I might crack a joke, too.

Q: The running man and the girly-punches, was that just your frustration coming out or did you consciously decide you were going to do something entertaining?
A: The running man thing, I was so frustrated. I usually don’t recall anything of the round as they're happening. At the end of the first round, I'm thinking, "Man, that's close, I hope I won that round." In the third I'm thinking, "Is anyone else seeing this? Is anyone noticing how he keeps backing up?" It was driving me crazy. And so I did my running man just to sort of say, "This is ridiculous. You've got to come to fight." When the 10-second bell rang, the only thought that went thru my mind was that the odds of me landing one solid punch and finishing are next to nothing, so I'm going to give him a chance to land something big and let's trade. Worst-case scenario, I'm going to clown him as bad as I can. So that's when I did what I call the rock hammer. I couldn’t believe how he was still backpedaling. When the final bell rang, he looked at me and goes, "Real classy."  I'm like, "I'm trying to have a fight and you won't engage."

Video   MMA Fight Weekly: Fallout from UFC 83 April 24: Matt Serra says GSP flat-out kicked his butt; Kalib Starnes released after his performance. NBC Sports

Q: So the humor just came naturally?
A: I felt there were a few ways to handle the situation. I've seen it before with lackluster fights when one guy is trying to push the action. All he does is get angry, and ends up cussing at the other guy. Then the fans get angry because they feel they've gotten ripped off, and. I didn’t want that vibe associated with my fight. I'd rather people walk away remembering it. I can honestly say everyone is remembering this fight. So it makes me happy to take something that could've been one of the worst fights in history and now it's become something everyone wants to see.

Q: Great bit of ad-lib in your postfight interview. How did you come up with the Rocky line?
A: The whole week I was in Canada, I saw it as a nationalistic thing. I figured I'd get a few cheers from people who remember my fight against Pete Sell or from the show, but they'll have blind loyalty to Kalib as a Canadian. But I thought if I push the action and start hitting him, and he's covering up and backing away, I'm going to win them over. And if I do win them over, I'm going to do Rocky IV.

Q: Kalib's being flamed on MMA sites everywhere and got cut from the UFC. How do you feel about the way he is being treated now? Are people overreacting?
A: Yes and no. Unless you've fought in a cage, it can be so stressful. It can be such a personal thing. Your life is shown in front of millions. How many people know how they'd react when they're getting a beatdown? It's fight or flight. On occasion, that flight will take over. I didn't want to disrespect him. Sometimes, when you're taking a beating, that flight takes over. That being said, we're in the sport as fighters. We're there to win. You have to fight every fight as though you're going to win.

When I fought Rich Franklin, I was out on my feet. He'd kneed me in the face and broke my nose. I was basically unconscious. I don't remember any of that stuff, but I was still standing, my hands were up and I was moving forward on him until the very second I got knocked out and my body betrayed me and wouldn't let me fight anymore. So I know until I go to my grave, no matter what the situation is, no matter how the cards are dealt, I'm going to play to win no matter what.

Q: You had a rough stretch with a career-threatening back injury and sort of fell out of the limelight for a while. How nice is it to be in the spotlight again?
A: It's nice to know my work is paying off. There was so much time when I was healing from my surgeries that the road seemed so long and hard. To be back and in the thick of things and have people remember he's still here, he brought his game, it's a very nice feeling. This fight more than anything has brought me back in the fans' consciousness.  It seems like everywhere I go now, I'm getting people saying, 'You're the guy who did the running man.' So many people telling me how much they enjoyed it. And obviously it wasn't a phenomenal fight, but it struck a chord.

Q: Is there anyone in particular you'd like to fight next?
A: I'm in no rush. There are so many guys that I'd like to fight and build up into title contention. We're deep in that division with champs and ex-champs of other organizations. Any one of those guys can set your career back a few steps. So I'm going to take my time for a change and slowly move my way up.

When I fought Pete Sell, it was a very tough fight for me. I learned I can still take the beating. I'm still a tough guy and can fight to win. Then I fought this fight and I realized I can learn these new skills: head movement and combinations. But as far as looking at it and thinking, "I'm a badass, I should be the champion of the world." No, I didn't gain that from this fight. I'm slowly moving forward and trying to be intelligent and moving forward.

Q: What kinds of injuries did you come out of the fight with?
A: I got some self-inflicted damage from hitting him with the right hand, and my elbow is messed up. I can't straighten my arm all the way so I'll probably have an MRI to get it checked out.

But I'm going to take a little bit of time to take care of my responsibilities. Take care of my little girl. It's just a reminder of why I do work so hard. It's so I can provide for my family and really enjoy this life that I've been so fortunate to come up on.

Q: So when will we see you back in the octagon?
A: It's been five days since my last fight. I haven't really had a chance to decompress yet. I'm just going to play some XBox, eat some pizza and drink some beer. Just be a guy and relax for a little bit.

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