Jamie Varner: Will He Stay or Will He Go??

For Jamie Varner, 2010 is a year that he should try to forget. The former WEC Lightweight Champion went 0-3-1 for the year and had very little success in the cage in 2010. On Thursday evening, Varner suffered another loss, pushing his record to 16-5-1 with two no contests.  This recent trend of losses has caused quite a stir and now many are speculating if the onetime WEC belt holder would be handed his walking papers by Zuffa.

Varner tasted defeat this time at the hands of wrestling ace Shane Roller at WEC 53, held in Glendale, Arizona.  Roller finished Varner via rear naked choke late in the first round.  While Varner came out strong and looked to control the pace of the fight, it was Roller who would ultimately put Varner on the ground, take his back and choke him out. This would be the second time this year that Varner was choked and forced to tap. The first was in January, by Ben Henderson at WEC 46.

 Prior to 2010, Varner had only lost twice starting the year with a record of 16-2 with his last loss occurring in 2006 against American Top Team standout Hermes Franca at UFC 62. From 2007 to 2009, Varner was on tear, winning 5 fights in a row and capturing the WEC Lightweight crown.  However, in 2009 at his first fight against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Varner suffered an eye injury and a broken hand that sidelined the former champ for a year.  Since his return, he has not been able to return to his winning ways.

Most believe that Varner has done enough prior to 2010 to secure him a spot on the UFC Lightweight roster.  Varner holds a record of 4-3-1 in the WEC.  Also, over two-thirds of Varner’s fights have ended via some type of stoppage.  Varner’s fights rarely end in a decision.  He is an aggressive fighter who looks to end fights.  His past toughness and former title should secure him at least one bout in the UFC, but only time will tell.

Tags: Jamie Varner, MMA, Shane Roller, UFC, WEC, WEC 53

Category: Exclusive, MMA, Opinion, UFC, WEC