UFC viewers who began following the organization during the rise of Conor McGregor are, unless diehard fans of the sport, likely unfamiliar with the name Jamie Varner.
That’s understandable — as the Irishman began his ascent to superstardom in the UFC in 2013, Varner was at the start of a four-fight losing streak to end his career.
The Setup
Varner, a respectable collegiate wrestler, first debuted in the UFC all the way back at UFC 62: Liddell vs. Sobral, suffering a loss to Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Hermes Franca by armbar. Despite redeeming himself with a win in his second fight at UFC 68: The Uprising, headlined by Randy Couture’s legendary victory over Tim Sylvia, Varner found himself out of the organization.
Steve Mazzagatti actually made a good stoppage here.
(🥊Jamie Varner TKO's Rob McCullough to win LW title, WEC 32) pic.twitter.com/RWCCtp2RlI
— MMA News Today (@MMANewsToday_) September 22, 2023
Varner then became a staple in World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), where he fought eight times in the lesser-known Zuffa-owned organization, winning its lightweight title and defending it twice.
Despite WEC being merged into the UFC in 2011, it wasn’t until more than a year later that Varner would compete on the sport’s biggest stage.
Back in the big leagues
Varner struggled after he lost his WEC title, going 0-3-1 before turning things around on the independent circuit, where he went 3-1 in fights between 2011 and 2012 leading up to his UFC return.
Opposite Varner was Edson Barboza, one of the sport’s all-time great strikers. At the time, the touted prospect already had four wins in the UFC to go along with an undefeated 10-0 record. Oh, and Varner was taking the fight on short notice, filling in for Evan Dunham.
As the fight approached, Barboza was a five-to-one favourite over the former WEC champion. It’s easy to see why — Barboza was coming into the fight on the heels of one of the best knockouts of all time.
It's hypnotic pic.twitter.com/RrvzJOPhHD
— MMA News Today (@MMANewsToday_) September 22, 2023
Only a year older than Barboza, Varner was a veteran of 28 fights and had both a height a reach disadvantage against the Brazilian fighter.
Less than two minutes into the fight, Barboza had already landed around a half dozen thudding leg kicks and survived side control on the ground. More thunderous leg kicks followed; things weren’t looking good for the American. But Varner, looking to implement his wrestle-boxing game plan, found a home for a his right hand and landed a nice body shot.
Rogan: ‘He hasn’t checked a single leg kick yet’
As the fight neared the two minute mark, UFC commentator Joe Rogan noted that Varner hadn’t “checked a single leg kick yet.” Keep in mind, this is against one of the sport’s most ferocious leg kickers. And another huge kick would follow.
But the former champion wasn’t done. Varner would land a right hand, and, sensing his young opponent was hurt, threw a flurry up punches backing him up against the cage. A takedown and some violent ground and pound followed.
Edson Barboza lost his unbeaten recorded to former WEC champ Jamie Varner, who was filling in on short notice after 5 years out of the organization and was a 5:1 underdog. pic.twitter.com/4SfpP45rTc
— MMA News Today (@MMANewsToday_) September 22, 2023
With Barboza back on his feet, nearly running to get away, Varner landed another right hand that sent the unbeaten Barboza crashing to the mat, where he finished the fight with hammerfists as Steve Mazzagatti, “the worst referee in the history of fighting,” according to Dana White, called an end to the bout.
“I gotta thank the UFC for bringing me back,” Varner said in his post-fight interview, Bleacher Report reported at the time. “Barboza is a tough, scary dude. I just wanted to come out here and put on a good performance. I didn’t care if I won or lost. I wanted to come out here and fight for the fans.”
High water mark
The win, his 20th in the sport, was considered by Sherdog to be the biggest upset of 2012.
“I worked my way up to a world title, defended it, then in one year I lost everything. In one year I lost my title. I lost my job. I lost my love and respect for the sport. It was just tough, man — rock bottom. It was just lonely, and I was just miserable and angry. I didn’t want to fight. I didn’t want to do anything anymore,” he told the outlet, recalling the highs and lows of his career.
Most fans today don’t know about this fight. An extremely underrated scrap.
Abel Trujillo vs. Jamie Varner at UFC 169.
Not only was the fight phenomenal, but it ended in devastating fashion. pic.twitter.com/6bgN9DRPbm
— Knuckles 👊 (@knuckles_stan) August 25, 2023
Unfortunately for Varner, things didn’t get better following the win. A fight of the year contender loss to Joe Lauzon was followed by two close split decisions (a win over Melvin Guillard and a loss to Gleison Tibau). Varner picked up another fight of the night bonus, but was again on the wrong side in a loss to Abel Trujillo.
After that, it was a battling through an unfortunate injury in a loss to James Krause followed by another loss, this time by first round submission to Drew Dober in 2014. It was at that point, he decided to lay down his gloves.
Remember when Jamie Varner fought four minutes with a broken ankle against James Krause?
Savage.pic.twitter.com/j2ejedFntI
— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) May 25, 2021
“I felt like it was God’s way of telling me it was done,” he told the MMA Hour in 2015. “I’m just gonna tarnish my reputation [if I continue]. I didn’t really want to go out the way I did, but at least I went out on my own terms.”
Since retirement, Varner has spoken about racking up more than 30 concussions during his days as a fighter, warning of the dangers of full-tilt sparring sessions in the gym. He’s also occasionally active on social media, posting to his near 47,000 followers on X.