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James Christopher Varner (born October 12, 1984) is a mixed martial artist who fights for the World Extreme Cagefighting. He is the former WEC Lightweight champion of the world.

Career

He successfully defended his WEC Lightweight Championship belt against the previously undefeated Marcus Hicks on August 3, 2008.^[1]

He retained his title on January 25, 2009 against Donald Cerrone at WEC 38.^[2] The fight was highly competitive and won fight of the night honors. 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.

The controversial nature of the stoppage, and many fans in the MMA communities disapproval of the result to a good fight, has tarnished Varner's once impeccable reputation as a tough fighter. The months following have led to potential rematch opportunities which have not occurred. Amidst speculation that Varner was avoiding the fight, and exaggerating an array of injuries that proceed the Cerrone match. This, and Varner's subsequent inability to perform since the Cerrone fight (despite Cerrone's ability to do the contrary) has led the WEC to set up an interim title bout between Cerrone and Henderson. Henderson defeated Cerrone via unanimous decision to win the WEC Interim Lightweight Championship.

Jamie Varner was defeated by fighter Ben Henderson on January 10, 2010 at WEC 46 to unify the WEC Lightweight Championship.^[3]

Varner was expected to face Kamal Shalorus on April 24, 2010 at WEC 48^[4], but that bout has been called off due to an injury sustained by Shalorus. Varner is now likely to compete at WEC 49 on June 20, 2010.^[5]

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 (he is not listed in the PI registry, if he joined it was after college) 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.

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.^[6]

Mixed Martial Arts record

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	16-3	Ben Henderson	Submission (Guillotine Choke)	WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson	2010-01-10	3	2:41	Sacramento, California, United States	Lost WEC Lightweight Title
Win	16-2	Donald Cerrone	Technical Decision (Split)	WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone	2009-01-25	5	1:58	San Diego, California, United States	Defended WEC Lightweight Title. Due to an unintentional knee on the ground by Cerrone, the fight was stopped at 1:58 of round 5 and went to the scorecards. Won Fight of the Night Honors.[7]
Win	15-2	Marcus Hicks	TKO (Punches)	WEC 35: Condit vs. Miura	2008-08-03	1	2:08	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Defended WEC Lightweight title
Win	14-2	Rob McCullough	TKO (Punches)	WEC 32: Condit vs. Prater	2008-02-13	3	2:54	Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States	Won WEC Lightweight title
Win	13-2	Sherron Leggett	TKO (Strikes)	WEC 29: Condit vs. Larson	2007-08-05	1	4:08	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	WEC debut
Win	12-2	Jason Gilliam	Technical Submission (Rear naked choke)	UFC 68: The Uprising	2007-03-03	1	1:34	Columbus, Ohio, United States
Loss	11-2	Hermes Franca	Submission (Armbar)	UFC 62: Liddell vs. Sobral	2006-08-26	3	3:31	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	UFC debut
Win	11-1	Leonard Wilson	Submission (choke)	RITC 78	2006-01-14	2	1:07	Glendale, Arizona, United States
NC	10-1	Tony Llamas	No Contest	KOTC Arizona	2005-07-09	N/A	N/A	Globe, Arizona, United States
Win	10-1	Paul Arroyo	Submission (strikes)	RITC 71	2005-06-30	1	2:03	Tempe, Arizona, United States
Win	9-1	Adam Roland	TKO	RITC 70	2005-06-11	2	2:46	Glendale, Arizona, USA
Win	8-1	Jesse Bongfeldt	TKO (Punches)	WFF 7 - Professional Shooto	2004-07-23	1	4:12	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Win	7-1	Kyle Bradley	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	FF - Fight Factory	2004-06-26	2	2:34	USA
Win	6-1	Kyle Sprouse	Submission (Choke)	RITC 63	2004-06-12	1	1:47	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	5-1	Garett Davis	Submission (Triangle Choke)	WFF 6 - World Freestyle Fighting 6	2004-05-14	1	3:52	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
NC	4-1	James Upshur	No Contest	RITC 61	2004-04-30	2	N/A	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	4-1	Jarvis Brennaman	Submission (Triangle Choke)	ECS - Evolution	2003-07-19	1	1:22	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	3-1	David Klein	Submission (Choke)	RITC 50	2003-07-12	3	1:56	Tucson, Arizona, USA
Win	2-1	Justin Nauling	Submission (Armbar)	RITC 49	2003-06-07	2	0:38	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Loss	1-1	Jesse Moreng	Decision (Unanimous)	RITC 47	2003-06-07	3	3:00	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	1-0	Carlos Ortega	Decision (Unanimous)	RITC 46	2003-03-27	3	3:00	Tempe, Arizona, USA

References

External links

• http://www.mmajacked.com/jamievarner MMAJacked Prosite
• Professional MMA record for Jamie Varner from Sherdog
• http://www.jamievarner.com Official Site
• http://www.mtxaudio.com/mma/view_bio.aspx?u=17 Bio at MTX MMA Website

World Extreme Cagefighting Current Champions Lightweight Ben Henderson Featherweight Jose Aldo Bantamweight Dominick Cruz Flyweight Vacant