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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Former WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner is going through something of a resurgence in the UFC. He wasn't brought over to the organization when the WEC folded in 2010, as he had been winless in four fights. He was then thinking about retirement before turning things around and getting a fight in the Octagon.
He took advantage of that with an upset over Edson Barboza, then had a "Fight of the Year" candidate with Joe Lauzon. Though he lost that fight, he picked up a win over Melvin Guillard in his last outing, and now would like to move up the ladder in his next fight. However, the issue he's now facing is that everyone's booked, so he's left with limited options for that next opponent. Still, he's got one in particular in mind.
"I was hoping to get something lined up for the end of May, but all the guys I want to fight are pretty much booked," Varner said in an interview with MMAjunkie.com. "Jim Miller, T.J. Grant, Rafael dos Anjos – not that I have anything against these guys, but all the guys in the Top 10 are pretty much booked. Even a rematch with Donald (Cerrone) or Joe Lauzon, Donald's already got a fight with K.J. Noons. Joe Lauzon's not going to fight until June or July. Realistically, I need to be fighting guys coming off a win. All the guys coming off a win that are in the Top 10 already have fights lined up. I'm kind of caught in purgatory right now."
"There's only a couple fights that kind of make sense, and one is Diego Sanchez. "But he just recently fought and I actually like Diego. I've been a big fan of his. If that fight came up, that would be a great fight for me, as well. I don't know if May would be too quick of a turnaround. Not that I'm trying to call him out, but he's the only fight outside of the guys in the Top 10 that makes sense for me."
Still, Varner's got other motivation in some of the names he's listed: bonuses. Against the exciting fighters in his division, Varner thinks he's got a very good chance to walk away with some extra money by the end of the night. But that also brings its own set of issues.
"Donald, Joe Lauzon and Diego Sanchez, I know no matter what happens, I'm probably going to walk away with a bonus – so that's great," he said. "My biggest fear is, I know any one of those guys, I'm probably going to end up going to the hospital. Whether I win or I lose, those are just such tough guys that can take intense amounts of punishment that it's a win-lose situation no matter what. I may win the fight, but I'll end up in the hospital with some sort of broken something."
Penick's Analysis: Varner's resurgence has been enjoyable to watch. He always got a lot more hate than was deserved in the WEC, and he's turned things around despite losing one of his three fights last year. He looked great against Barboza, looked good against Lauzon in a fantastic fight before getting caught, and looked good against Guillard as well. A fight with Diego Sanchez could be a fantastic fight at lightweight, so if both are available and ready to go that's a fight I'd love to see. Regardless, I'll be intrigued by Varner's next fight no matter who it's against, and that's a compliment to what he's done since coming back.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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