Per MMABlitz.com, in a big blow to the UFC Live 4 card, headliner Nate Marquardt will not be able to compete against Rick Story on Sunday after failing the pre-fight physical.

Following the failed physical, UFC President posted this, stating Marquardt will no longer be with the UFC

MMAJunkie.com was the first to report on the matter

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned that Marquardt is a late scratch from Sunday’s UFC on Versus 4 event, and opponent Rick Story (13-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) will now instead meet Charlie Brenneman (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) on the evening’s main card.

With the late change, a highly-anticipated heavyweight bout between Pat Barry (6-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) and Cheick Kongo (15-6-2 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC) has now been promoted to main-event status.

The reason for Marquardt’s last-minute withdrawal, mere hours before he was scheduled to hit the scales at the event’s official weigh-ins, wasn’t immediately evident. However, Marquardt’s camp did release a statement insisting the setback was temporary and his future still lies at 170 pounds.

“Nate is really disappointed,” the statement read. “He really was looking forward to making his welterweight debut, and he plans to be back in there as soon as possible.”

Brenneman is the replacement, but that probably won’t suit Story, who took this fight on short notice for a chance to really thrust himself into the title picture. This fight seems like a lose-lose situation for Story.

For Marquardt, it is hard to know what will happen next, but clearly there is still more to this story.