A tough night for Jamie Varner

Last Sunday night WEC Lightweight Champion, Jamie Varner, defended his title against “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone. For four rounds the two went back and forth making for an extremely exciting fight. In the fifth round the fight was called due to an illegal knee to the head by Cerrone and Varner left with a technical decision victory and the belt. Now it appears that Varner left the ring with much more than that.

In a recent interview with Sherdog’s Beatdown radio, Varner revealed that he received a broken hand and foot during the fight, which left him virtually unable to strike going into the final round. He is also concerned that he may have a detached retina in his eye, which may be a career ending injury for the up and coming fighter. According to the fighter he will meet with an eye doctor next week to determine the extent of the injury.

However, even with the injury to his eye it is possible Varner will be able to return to the cage. Heavyweight boxer Lamon Brewster had surgery to repair his detached retina after his defeat at the hands of Sergei Liakhovich in 2006. Since the surgery Brewster was able to return to the ring for two high profile title fights.

Despite the plethora of injuries that Jamie Varner received in the fight, it appears that he was more affected by the fans in attendance. After the fight was stopped, he received a chorus of ‘boos’. He told Beatdown, “what hurt me the most was the crowd. They had no idea about the pain or suffering I was going through.” Varner continues, “for them to think I was looking for a way out, I fought close to 13 minutes with a broken hand and foot and I could’ve easily quit the fight before that. Why would I endure all that pain just to quit? I’m not a quitter. I’m a fighter. I’m a champion and I’m going to try and defend my title to the death.”

By:  Richard Mann