Jamie Varner Says He Deserves Respect From Fans, WEC Brass
| WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner will face interim title holder Benson Henderson tonight in the main event of WEC 46 and Varner has gone straight primadonna over his perceived second-class citizen status behind Sacramento homeboy Urijah Faber.
Faber, making his return after suffering a pair of broken hands in his second loss to Mike Brown, has dominated the local headlines while the Varner-Henderson bout gets short shrift. Varner’s been out of action recovering from injuries as well since defending his crown in five rounds against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone last January. “I don’t feel disrespected,” Varner said. “Maybe a little more overlooked and under appreciated would be the word. In my last fight I let it all hang out, I spent eight months not being able to fight or to train, so it’s a little disappointing.” Varner made it clear that he means no disrespect to the former WEC featherweight champion, Faber, who he says helped him through a tough stretch. “I like being piggybacked with Urijah,” Varner said. “He’s an incredible athlete, he’s a great fighter, he puts on a great show every time and he can sell 12,000 tickets.” Varner wants the same kind of support he sees directed at his colleague Faber.
Varner is still smarting over the controversial ending of his bout with Cerrone. Varner took a knee to the side of the head that was ruled illegal by the referee, and aftertalking to the doctor, Varner was ruled unable to continue and has felt the wrath from fans say he took the easy way out of the fight. Ben “Smooth” Henderson piled on with that take as well, and it has Varner riled up. The Cerrone fight went to a decision, and Varner reminded the assembled media that he broke his right hand early in the fight – and fractured his foot later in the bout. |
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If you don’t like me, if you don’t like or appreciate my fighting style, I don’t want you as a fan. I don’t need you as a fan.I want the people who appreciate my fighting style, see that I fight with heart.This fight is a chance to win some of those fans back, but I’m not really so worried about those ones I have to win back, I’m more worried about keeping the ones that I have happy. |
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| Varner said the last year has been the toughest of his life mentally.
“You learn so much when you hit rock bottom, and that’s honestly how I felt what happened to me – when you lose everything you love it forces you to survive and when you hit bottom all you can do is get up,” said Varner. “I didn’t have fighting, I didn’t have training, I didn’t have all those things I love to do and I didn’t have the support of the fans, but what I did have was skill and the opportunity to fight again. I was blessed with a gift and I need to embrace it. I think that is one thing that really changed for me, I needed to embrace what I do have and not what I don’t.” |
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WEC 46 – Varner vs. HendersonWorld Extreme CagefightingJanuary 10, 2010Arco Arena,Sacramento, Calif.WEC 46 FIGHT CARD Matchups: Jamie Varner vs. Benson Henderson Urijah Faber (No. 3 FW) vs. Raphael Assuncao (No. 5 FW) |
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“I would just like to have a show go to Arizona,” said Varner, who was born and bread in the Grand Canyon state. “I would like to have a little more marketing behind me from the organization that I represent, the organization that I fight for, that I bleed for. I would just like that to change.”
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