Jamie Varner

James Varner (born October 12, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist who fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). He is a former WEC Lightweight Champion.

Background Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Varner attended Deer Valley High School where he competed in wrestling. At Deer Valley, Varner was a two-time Regional Champion and a State Runner Up and went on to compete at Pima Community College where he was a two-time National Qualifier and a National Runner Up, in addition to being an NJCAA All-American and a two-time Academic All-American.

Mixed martial arts career Ultimate Fighting Championship Varner competed twice in the UFC. His first appearance was against veteran Hermes Franca, which Varner lost via submission (armbar) in round three. His final appearance was against formerly undefeated Jason Gilliam, which he won via first round submission (rear naked choke). After this win, Varner transferred to the WEC.

World Extreme Cagefighting Varner successfully defended his WEC Lightweight Championship against the previously undefeated Marcus Hicks on August 3, 2008.

He next retained his title on January 25, 2009, defeating Donald Cerrone via technical split decision at WEC 38. The fight was highly competitive and won the Fight of the Night award. However, the fight was stopped prematurely in the fifth round when Cerrone hit Varner's temple with an illegal knee while Varner was still on the ground. Varner was given time to recover, but he was unable to continue, noting that he had double vision and had sustained a broken hand.

Varner faced Benson Henderson to unify the WEC Lightweight Championship at WEC 46 on January 10, 2010. After outboxing and outwrestling Henderson in the first two rounds, Henderson came back and caught Varner in a standing guillotine choke ending the fight at 2:41 of the third round.

Varner was expected to face Kamal Shalorus on April 24, 2010 at WEC 48, but the bout was called off due to an injury sustained by Shalorus. Varner/Shalorus was then rescheduled for June 20, 2010 at WEC 49. The match ended in a split draw.

Varner faced Donald Cerrone in a highly anticipated rematch on September 30, 2010 at WEC 51. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Varner faced Shane Roller on December 16, 2010 at WEC 53. He lost via submission in the first round and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Post Zuffa In his first post-Zuffa fight, Varner fought Tyler Combs for XFO and won via submission in the first round. He was also in negotiations for a possible fight against DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki at the end of May 2011, but the bout did not materialize.

Varner headlined Titan Fighting Championships 20 against Dakota Cochrane on September 23, 2011, losing by unanimous decision.

Varner has signed a three-fight contract with XFC. He debuted on the XFC 14 show, defeating Nate Jolly via KO in round one. He returned on the XFC 16 High Stakes card which took place on February 10, 2012 from the Knoxville Civic Auditorium-Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. He defeated Drew Fickett via TKO due to strikes just 40 seconds into round one.

Return to the UFC It was announced that Varner would replace Evan Dunham, who suffered an injury, to fight undefeated prospect Edson Barboza on May 26, 2012 at UFC 146. Varner defeated Barboza by TKO due to punches in the first round.

Varner replaced an injured Terry Etim against Joe Lauzon on August 4, 2012 at UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera. Varner broke his hand in the second round and lost at 2:44 in the third round via triangle choke. However, his performance earned him the $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus and a Fight of the Year nomination at the World MMA Awards.

Varner was scheduled to face Melvin Guillard on December 15, 2012 at the Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale. However, Varner fell ill the day of the event and the bout was scrapped from the card. Varner/Guillard was rescheduled for December 29, 2012 at UFC 155. Varner won the fight via split decision (30–27, 27–30, 30–27). Joe Rogan said post fight that "whoever scored it 30 to 27 for Guillard should never be allowed to judge a fight again."

Varner faced Gleison Tibau on August 31, 2013 at UFC 164. He lost the fight via split decision.

Varner was expected to face Pat Healy on December 14, 2013 at UFC on Fox 9. However, Varner pulled out of the bout due to injury and was replaced by Bobby Green

Varner faced Abel Trujillo on February 1, 2014 at UFC 169, replacing Bobby Green. He lost the back-and-forth fight via knockout in the second round. Despite the loss, Varner was given a Fight of the Night bonus award for the bout. The loss was also Varner's first knockout loss in his career.

Varner faced James Krause on May 24, 2014 at UFC 173. Varner lost the fight via TKO due to injury as he broke his ankle in the first round and was unable to continue into the second round.

Varner next fought Drew Dober on December 13, 2014 at UFC on Fox 13. He lost the fight via a rear-naked choke. Varner landed on his head while attempting a takedown, temporarily rocking him and allowing Dober to take Varner's back to get the choke. In his post-fight interview inside the octagon, Varner announced his retirement from mixed martial arts competition.

Personal life He is an alumnus of Deer Valley High School in Glendale, Arizona, where he also was a part of the Deer Valley Skyhawk Wrestling Team. He attended Lock Haven University where he joined the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and spent his time at that school 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. Also attended PCC (Pima Community College) outside of Maricopa county in Arizona.

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.

After retiring from MMA in 2014, Varner continued his studies that were interrupted when Varner got into the UFC. Eventually Varner graduated with major in marketing and a minor in financing. After graduating he worked at Boston Scientific before transitioning to the stem cell domain.

Championships and accomplishments Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight of the Night (Three times) UFC.com Awards 2012: Ranked #3 Upset of the Year 2014: Ranked #5 Fight of the Year World Extreme Cagefighting WEC Lightweight Championship (One time) Two successful title defenses Tied (Gabe Ruediger; Hermes França) for most consecutive successful defenses in the Lightweight division Tied (Gabe Ruediger; Hermes França) for most successful defenses in the Lightweight division Fight of the Night (Two Times) Sherdog 2012 Upset of the Year World MMA Awards 2012 Fight of the Year vs. Joe Lauzon at UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera Bloody Elbow 2012 Upset of the Year FIGHT! Magazine 2012 Upset of the Year Bleacher Report 2014 #5 Ranked Fight of the Year

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Drew Dober Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC on Fox: dos Santos vs. Miocic

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Loss

James Krause TKO (ankle injury) UFC 173

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Abel Trujillo KO (punch) UFC 169

Newark, New Jersey, United States Loss

Gleison Tibau Decision (split) UFC 164

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States Win

Melvin Guillard Decision (split) UFC 155

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Joe Lauzon Submission (triangle choke) UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera

Los Angeles, California, United States Win

Edson Barboza TKO (punches) UFC 146

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Drew Fickett Submission (punches) XFC 16

Knoxville, Tennessee, United States Win

Nate Jolly KO (punches) XFC 14

Orlando, Florida, United States Loss

Dakota Cochrane Decision (unanimous) Titan FC 20

Kansas City, Kansas, United States Win

Tyler Combs Submission (north-south choke) XFO 39

Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States Loss

Shane Roller Submission (rear-naked choke) WEC 53

Glendale, Arizona, United States Loss

Donald Cerrone Decision (unanimous) WEC 51

Broomfield, Colorado, United States Draw

Kamal Shalorus Draw (split) WEC 49

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Loss

Benson Henderson Submission (guillotine choke) WEC 46

Sacramento, California, United States Win

Donald Cerrone Technical Decision (split) WEC 38

San Diego, California, United States Win

Marcus Hicks TKO (punches) WEC 35

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Rob McCullough TKO (punches) WEC 32

Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States Win

Sherron Leggett TKO (punches and elbows) WEC 29

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Jason Gilliam Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 68

Columbus, Ohio, United States Loss

Hermes França Submission (armbar) UFC 62

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Leonard Wilson Submission (rear-naked choke) Rage in the Cage 78

Glendale, Arizona, United States NC

Tony Llamas No Contest KOTC 56: Caliente

Globe, Arizona, United States Win

Paul Arroyo Submission (punches) Rage in the Cage 71

Tempe, Arizona, United States Win

Adam Roland TKO (punches) Rage in the Cage 70

Glendale, Arizona, United States Win

Jesse Bongfeldt TKO (punches) WFF 7: Professional Shooto

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Win

Kyle Bradley Submission (rear-naked choke) Fight Factory

N/A Win

Kyle Sprouse Submission (choke) RITC 63: It's Time

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

Garett Davis Submission (triangle choke) World Freestyle Fighting 6

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada NC

James Upshur No Contest RITC 61: Relentless

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

Jarvis Brennaman Submission (triangle choke) ECS: Evolution

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

Dave Klein Submission (choke) RITC 50: The Prelude

Tucson, Arizona, United States Win

Justin Nauling Submission (armbar) RITC 49: Stare Down

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Loss

Jesse Moreng Decision (unanimous) RITC 47: Unstoppable

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

Carlos Ortega Decision (unanimous) RITC 46: Launching Pad

Tempe, Arizona, United States