Jamie Varner
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Name | Jamie Varner |
| Nickname | Showtime / C-4 / The Worm | |
| Association | Arizona Combat Sports | |
| Weight Class | Lightweight (155 lbs.) | |
| Height | 5' 8" (173 cm.) | |
| Style | Wrestling, Boxing | |
| Birth Date | October 12, 1984 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Tempe, Arizona, USA | |
| Country | USA | |
| Jamie Varner Pictures | Jamie Varner's Official Site |
Jamie Varner is an American mixed martial artist who fights for World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) as a lightweight. He is the former WEC Lightweight Champion and has competed in UFC twice, going 1-1, before he moved to the WEC.
Contents |
Professional Record
| Record | 21 - 7 - 1 (Win – Loss – Draw) (2 NC) |
| Wins | 7 (T)KOs 11 Submissions 2 Decisions 1 Other |
| Losses | 0 (T)KOs 4 Submissions 3 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Melvin Guillard | Decision (Split) | UFC 155: Dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 | 12/29/2012 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Joe Lauzon | Submission (Triangle Choke) | UFC on FOX 4: Shogun vs. Vera | 8/4/2012 | 3 | 2:44 | Won Fight of the Night |
| Win | Edson Barboza | TKO (Punches) | UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir | 5/26/2012 | 1 | 3:23 | |
| Win | Drew Fickett | Submission (Punches) | XFC 16: High Stakes | 2/10/2012 | 1 | 0:40 | |
| Win | Nate Jolly | KO (Punches) | XFC 14: Resurrection | 10/21/2011 | 1 | 1:07 | |
| Loss | Dakota Cochrane | Decision (Unanimous) | Titan Fighting Championships 20: Rogers vs. Sanchez | 9/23/2011 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Tyler Combs | Submission (North South Choke) | XFO: Xtreme Fighting Organization 39 | 5/13/2011 | 1 | 1:30 | |
| Loss | Shane Roller | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis | 12/16/2010 | 1 | 3:55 | Released by WEC/UFC following loss |
| Loss | Donald Cerrone | Decision (Unanimous) | WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan | 9/30/2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Won Fight of the Night |
| Draw | Kamal Shalorus | Draw | WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus | 6/20/2010 | 3 | 5:00 | (29-27, 27-29, 28-28); Shalorus had one point deducted for illegal kicks to the groin; Won Fight of the Night |
| Loss | Ben Henderson | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson | 1/10/2010 | 3 | 2:41 | Bout to unify Lightweight titles; Lost WEC Lightweight Championship |
| Win | Donald Cerrone | Technical Decision (Split) | WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone | 1/25/2009 | 5 | 3:10 | Defended WEC Lightweight Championship; Due to an unintentional knee on the ground by Cerrone, the fight was stopped at 1:58 of round 5 and went to the judges; Won Fight of the Night |
| Win | Marcus Hicks | TKO (Punches) | WEC 35: Condit vs. Miura | 8/03/2008 | 1 | 2:08 | Defended WEC Lightweight Championship |
| Win | Rob McCullough | TKO (Punches) | WEC 32: Condit vs. Prater | 2/13/2008 | 3 | 2:54 | Won WEC Lightweight Championship |
| Win | Sherron Leggett | TKO (Punches and Elbows) | WEC 29: Condit vs. Larson | 8/05/2007 | 1 | 4:08 | |
| Win | Jason Gilliam | Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC 68: The Uprising | 3/03/2007 | 1 | 1:34 | After the fight, moved to WEC's lightweight division. |
| Loss | Hermes Franca | Submission (Armbar) | UFC 62: Liddell vs. Sobral | 8/26/2006 | 3 | 3:31 | |
| Win | Leonard Wilson | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | RITC 78: Back with a Vengance | 1/14/2006 | 2 | 1:07 | |
| NC | Tony Llamas | No Contest | KOTC: Arizona | 7/09/2005 | N/A | N/A | |
| Win | Paul Arroyo | Submission (Strikes) | RITC 71: Rage in the Cage 71 | 6/30/2005 | 1 | 2:03 | |
| Win | Adam Roland | TKO | RITC 70: Rage in the Cage 70 | 6/11/2005 | 1 | 2:46 | |
| Win | Jesse Bongfeldt | TKO (Punches) | WFF 7: Professional Shooto | 7/23/2004 | 1 | 4:12 | |
| Win | Kyle Bradley | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | FF: Fight Factory | 6/26/2004 | 2 | 2:34 | |
| Win | Kyle Sprouse | Submission (Choke) | RITC 63: It's Time | 6/12/2004 | 1 | 1:47 | |
| Win | Garett Davis | Submission (Triangle Choke) | WFF 6: World Freestyle Fighting 6 | 5/14/2004 | 1 | 3:52 | |
| NC | James Upshur | No Contest | RITC 61: Relentless | 4/30/2004 | 2 | N/A | |
| Win | Jarvis Brennaman | Submission (Triangle Choke) | ECS: Evolution | 7/19/2003 | 1 | 1:22 | |
| Win | David Klein | Submission (Choke) | RITC 50: The Prelude | 7/12/2003 | 3 | 1:56 | |
| Win | Justin Nauling | Submission (Armbar) | RITC 49: Stare Down | 6/07/2003 | 2 | 0:38 | |
| Loss | Jesse Moreng | Decision (Unanimous) | RITC 47: Unstoppable | 4/12/2003 | 3 | 3:00 | |
| Win | Carlos Ortega | Decision (Unanimous) | RITC 46: Launching Pad | 3/27/2003 | 3 | 3:00 | |
Biography
Varner is an alumnus of Deer Valley High School in Glendale, Arizona, where he was also a part of the Deer Valley Skyhawk Wrestling Team. He attended Lock Haven University and spent his time there training both as a wrestler and a boxer, where he was NCBA (National Collegiate Boxing Association) Champion for the nationally recognized Lock Haven University boxing team.
Legalization of MMA
Varner was instrumental in the legalization and forthcoming athletic sanctioning of mixed martial arts in the state of Arizona after giving testimony to the sport's legitimacy and ongoing development as an athletic profession.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Varner first began competing in smaller promotions, most specifically Rage in the Cage, before making his UFC debut against Hermes Franca. Varner was defeated at 3:31 in the third round via Armbar.
His second showing in the UFC took place against Jason Gilliam, whom he defeated with a Rear Naked Choke in the first round. After the win, instead of continuing to compete in the UFC, Varner moved to the UFC's sister promotion, the WEC.
WEC Career
Varner's WEC debut took place against Sherron Leggett, where he defeated Leggett via TKO (Punches and Elbows) at 4:08 in the first round. After the win, Varner was considered the number one contender for the WEC lightweight title, held at the time by Rob McCullough.
At 2:54 in the third round, Varner defeated Rob McCullough via TKO (Punches) to become the WEC Lightweight Champion. He went on to successfully defended his title against the previously undefeated Marcus Hicks on August 3, 2008. He defeated Hicks at 2:08 of the first round via TKO (Punches).
On January 25, 2009 Varner retained his title against number one contender Donald Cerrone at WEC 38. While highly competitive and entertaining, the fight was stopped prematurely in the fifth round when Cerrone grazed Varner's temple with an illegal knee while Varner was still on the ground. Varner was given time to recover, but was unable to continue, noting that he had double vision and had sustained a broken foot. This was much to the chagrin of the crowd, which believed Varner was looking for a way out of the fight, despite being ahead on points. Varner has since had successful surgery to repair a detached retina sustained against Cerrone.
Varner was expected to make his return in a highly anticipated rematch with Cerrone, but sustained another setback when his doctor told him that his hand was still fractured. In the mean-time, the WEC set up an interim lightweight title fight between Cerrone and up-and-comer Ben Henderson. Henderson ended up winning by Decision (Unanimous), which some questioned, yet Cerrone admitted defeat, saying that Henderson fought a great fight and deserved to face Varner to unify the belts.
The unification bout took place at WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson on January 10, 2010. Though Varner controlled almost every aspect of the fight, in the third round he caught a knee that took his base from him as he shot in. Henderson wrapped his left arm around Varner's head and climbed his torso for a standing Guillotine Choke. Varner had no choice but to tap at 2:41 of the third round, losing his lightweight title and making Henderson the undisputed WEC Lightweight Champion. The loss was Varner's first loss since 2006, when he was defeated by Hermes Franca.
Varner was expected to return to action to face Iranian Kamal Shalorus in a lightweight clash to take place at WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber, but Shalorus failed to get cleared for the bout due to injuries sustained in his previous fight with Dave Jansen. The bout was nixed, but was rescheduled as the headliner of WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus. For three rounds, Varner did his best to stick and move while avoiding the powerful hooks of Shalorus. Meanwhile Shalorus spent the three rounds blasting away with kicks at the inside and outside of Varner's legs, though it needs to be mentioned that Varner was caught in the groin three separate occasions, which ended with Shalorus getting deducted a point in the second round. All three judges scored the bout differently, one for Varner, one for Shalorus, and the third calling it a Draw, which ended the fight as a Draw. The fight went on to win the Fight of the Night Honors.
Many seemed shocked at the decision, as many thought Varner had done enough, even without the low kick point deduction, to earn the fight. On top of that, the fight was billed as a number one contender fight for the Lightweight title, held at the time by Benson Henderson, but with a Draw, the bout did not help determine a contender.
Varner next faced off against bitter rival Donald Cerrone in a re-match of their 2009 Lightweight title fight. The re-match took place at WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan. The two battled it back and forth for three straight rounds, with each fighter wobbling his opponent at times. After an awkward post-fight confrontation where Cerrone initially signaled for an embrace only to use his forearm to push Varner away, the scores were read. And they were unanimously in favor of Cerrone, who earned the Decision (Unanimous), via scores of 30-27 on all three judges' cards. The fight won Fight of the Night Honors.
- "Hell nah – no way," said Cerrone, when asked if the feud was over, who also offered to fight Varner in a rubber match during the WEC's December trip to Arizona. "I want to be one up on him.
When asked if he was open to a trilogy of fights Varner was willing to take Cerrone up on the offer.
- "I don't know what to do with this guy," said Varner, who acknowledged his opponent's improvement since their first fight. "He acts like my friend, we shake hands, and then he's pissed off. Arizona is my hometown. I gave you guys one hell of a fight here. I wouldn't mind settling the score there."
Ranks and Titles
- WEC Lightweight Champion (2008-2010)
- NJCAA All-American National Runner-up
- Wrestled D1 in Pennsylvania
- NCBA National Boxing Champion
