Jamie Varner Retires After 11-Year Career
Following his loss to Drew Dober on UFC Fight Night 13, Jamie Varner announced that he is hanging up his gloves and retiring from the sport of mixed martial arts. The 30-year-old Varner lost his last four straight fights in the UFC, and closes his career with a record of 21-11-1, and two no contests.
Varner’s highlight of his career was becoming the lightweight champion of World Extreme Cagefighting. Varner struggled in the UFC, in his first stint, he went 1-1, then he went on to fight in WEC, upon his return he would go 2-6, finishing with an overall 3-7 record in the UFC.
Varner had intentions of retiring for a while now. Transcribed from site founder and reporter Kirik Jenness of mixedmartialarts.com, Varner said in his post fight conference, “I knew this was going to be my last fight. I can’t keep up with these young kids anymore. I’m battling injuries all the time. My hat is off to Drew. He came in, hostile territory, and fought his ass off. It’s been an absolute dream. I’ve been fighting a long time. It’s been a dream. I own a gym, I’ve done things I never thought I could do.”
Varner is not completely leaving the sport, he plans to instruct his students in Arizona and help them develop.
