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Things went from bad to worse for Nate Marquardt on Saturday.

First, Pennsylvania athletic commission officials refused to medically clear the fighter just a bit more than 24 hours before his main event bout against Rick Story at UFC Live 4. Then Marquardt was released from the UFC, according to a video statement from company president Dana White.

“Not only is he out of this fight and out of the main event on Versus, he will no longer be with the UFC," White said in a brief video released on Tout.com.

Marquardt’s sudden dismissal left the company scrambling to reboot its televised card. Story’s new opponent will be Charlie Brenneman, who was training for his own fight at the event before TJ Grant pulled out due to illness. The heavyweight bout between Pat Barry and Chieck Kongo will now serve as the show’s main event.

Video   Exclusive: Marquardt's weight cut June 26, 2011: Nate Marquardt talks about his weight cut before he's ruled out of tonight's fight.

Marquardt had been preparing to make his 170-pound debut and reasons were not immediately available why he wasn’t cleared to compete or why the UFC would move so quickly to release a fighter who’d previously spent six years as a top contender in the middleweight division. The announcement came just prior to Saturday’s weigh-in and members of Marquardt’s camp later told the media they believed he would’ve made the welterweight limit.

Marquardt amassed a record of 10-4 at 185-pounds between 2005-11. He lost a middleweight title fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 85 and then a pair of No. 1 contender bouts during 2010, but bounced back to defeat Dan Miller at UFC 128 before declaring he would decamp for welterweight.

He’d originally been set to fight Anthony Johnson on Sunday, but less than a month ago Johnson pulled out with a shoulder injury and Story stepped in on short notice.

Marquardt told reporters during the lead up to this fight that he didn’t expect the cut to 170-pounds would be a problem for him and that he considered welterweight to be a more natural fit for him. It is unknown if his attempts to cut the extra weight played into his inability to get clearance.