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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Former WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner will not be making the move to the UFC, as PunchDrunkGamer.com reports that he informed them of his release from his Zuffa contract.
Varner suffered a loss to Shane Roller on the final WEC event. The WEC 53 card, in his home state of Arizona, saw him lose by submission, his second loss of the year.
The former UFC lightweight won four straight fights in the WEC, three of which were title bouts. After capturing the title from "Razor" Rob McCullough in 2008, he defended the belt twice against Marcus Hicks and Donald Cerrone.
After a lengthy layoff, Varner was defeated by Ben Henderson in January of this year. A subsequent draw with Kamal Shalorus was followed by a loss to Cerrone in a rematch of their January 2009 title bout. The Roller loss put him at 0-3-1 over his last four fights.
Penick's Analysis: With him being a former Champion of the WEC, there was a chance he could have been given an opportunity to pick up a win in the UFC, but the release isn't all that surprising. He should have been 1-3 in 2010, but even that likely would have seen him cut from his contract. With the merger and a stacked lightweight division, being winless in four fights meant the cut was inevitable.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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