Tag: Jamie Varner

Shinya Aoki Will Likely Face Either Jamie Varner or Antonio McKee at DREAM ‘Fight for Japan’ May 29


(Aoki is not impressed by DREAM’s choices of opponents)

DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki will reportedly take on either former World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion Jamie Varner or former Maximum Fighting Championship lightweight champion Antonio McKee at DREAM’s “Fight for Japan” disaster relief benefit show on May 29 in Tokyo.

According to MMAWeekly, Aoki’s original opponent, UFC and Shooto veteran Williamy Freire, was unable to secure a visa to fight in Japan, so the promotion offered the bout to McKee, who was inexplicably stripped of his MFC belt earlier this month and learned of the news from a press release put out by the Edmonton, Alberta-based promotion announcing that Drew Fickett and Hermes Franca would be competing in its next show for “Mandingo’s” strap. His opportunity to contend for DREAM gold, however has hit a snag as he too does not have a visa to fight in Asia. As a precaution, DREAM has now offered Varner the bout, but it is unclear at this point which of the two former champions will be taking on Aoki in three weeks.


(Aoki is not impressed by DREAM’s choices of opponents)

DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki will reportedly take on either former World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion Jamie Varner or former Maximum Fighting Championship lightweight champion Antonio McKee at DREAM’s “Fight for Japan” disaster relief benefit show on May 29 in Tokyo.

According to MMAWeekly, Aoki’s original opponent, UFC and Shooto veteran Williamy Freire, was unable to secure a visa to fight in Japan, so the promotion offered the bout to McKee, who was inexplicably stripped of his MFC belt earlier this month and learned of the news from a press release put out by the Edmonton, Alberta-based promotion announcing that Drew Fickett and Hermes Franca would be competing in its next show for “Mandingo’s” strap. His opportunity to contend for DREAM gold, however has hit a snag as he too does not have a visa to fight in Asia. As a precaution, DREAM has now offered Varner the bout, but it is unclear at this point which of the two former champions will be taking on Aoki in three weeks.

Short notice bouts are nothing new for FEG-owned promotions or their Japanese counterparts. In December the promotion brought in Todd Duffee to face Alistair Overeem a few days prior to its K-1 NYE Dynamite! show. Strangely, Overeem won the DREAM interim heavyweight title for taking out the unmatched American, who had never fought for the promotion before.

Fighters have complained for years that despite signing contracts months in advance of events, often they do not find out who they are fighting until one or two weeks out from the bout. Some fighters have suggested that they have been intentionally left in the dark about whom they will be facing to put them at a disadvantage, especially when facing Japanese opponents.

Don’t be surprised if a third fighter is named as Aoki’s official opponent.

Former WEC Champ Jamie Varner Books First Fight Since Zuffa Release

Filed under: NewsFormer WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner has booked his first fight since being cut by Zuffa following his last fight.

Varner will meet Tyler Combs in the co-main event of XFO 39, a promotion run by former WEC title challenger Je…

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Former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner has booked his first fight since being cut by Zuffa following his last fight.

Varner will meet Tyler Combs in the co-main event of XFO 39, a promotion run by former WEC title challenger Jeff Curran, who will fight in the main event against Joe Pearson. The all-pro card will take place May 13 at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., outside Chicago.

Suggestion Box: New Jobs for Fired Fighters

(Don’t give him any money. You know he’ll just spend it on N.O.-Xplode. Photo courtesy of Myron Watkins.)
By CagePotato contributor Jason Moles
This week, our nation’s attention has been captured by redneck birds and the Golden Voice Hobo, only one …

homeless ufc fighter mma photos
(Don’t give him any money. You know he’ll just spend it on N.O.-Xplode. Photo courtesy of Myron Watkins.)

By CagePotato contributor Jason Moles

This week, our nation’s attention has been captured by redneck birds and the Golden Voice Hobo, only one of which has a happy ending. (No, not that kind…the other kind. Yes, there is another kind.) The rags-to-riches-to-rags-and-back-to-riches tale of fortune for Ted Williams is the polar opposite of that of many fighters lately. In the last two weeks, Zuffa has cut six fighters and suspended one more. The economy is still in the can and homeboys gotta eat, so if Strikeforce or Bellator don’t come calling soon, this is where you’re going to see ‘The Expendables’ next:

Brandon "The Truth" Vera: Some believe the number 13 to be unlucky, and for Vera it was. After exactly that many fights in the Octagon, his days in the spotlight are over. From now on he’ll be slinging dinuguan [Ed. note: Eww.] with a side of balut  [Ed. note: *barfs*] at his aunt and uncle’s restaurant, Manila Good-Ha, in L.A.’s Koreatown. It’s a match made in heaven for Vera because he’ll never have to worry about getting punched in the nose again — that is, unless he back-talks his wife Kerry. He’s just gotta make sure Jon Jones’s order is just how he likes it.

Marcus "The Irish Hand Grenade" Davis: The former TUF 2 contestant will grow out his hair and learn how to drop flying-elbows off the top turnbuckle. Davis will join forces with Samoa Joe, the man he trained back in 2008, to form the world’s most obscure tag-team since The Oddities. At some point Marc Mero, also a former boxer, will come out of retirement to challenge The Irish Hand Grenade to a Caribbean Strap Match for bragging rights as the best ‘real’ fighter in TNA. Dan Hardy will interfere and cost him the match leaving him to reconsider life in some barn with his ex-Army sniper friend.

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And Now They’re Fired: Chris Horodecki and Jamie Varner

(It looks like child and actor labor laws finally bit Zuffa in the ass.)
What a difference a year can make in the life of a fighter.
In the past 365 days, Chris Horodecki (16-3)  rebounded from his WEC highlight reel knockout loss to Anthony Njok…


(It looks like child and actor labor laws finally bit Zuffa in the ass.)

What a difference a year can make in the life of a fighter.

In the past 365 days, Chris Horodecki (16-3)  rebounded from his WEC highlight reel knockout loss to Anthony Njokuani to win two in a row against Danny Downes and Ed Ratcliffe. The wins earned the former IFL posterboy a step up in competition — namely former number one WEC lightweight contender Donald Cerrone.

Following a disappointing showing against "Cowboy" earlier this month, "The Polish Hammer" has now been dropped by Zuffa and will not be joining his Team Tompkins stablemate Sam Stout in the UFC as part of the WEC merger. 

"One door closes and another one opens," the 23-year-old Canadian told MMAjunkie today. "I’ll be back sooner than later. [I’ll] get back in it. We’ll get a couple fights and do what we do."

Joining Horodecki on the unemployment line to start 2011 will be former WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner (16-5, 2NC) who was also dropped by the Vegas-based promotion today following his less-than-stellar compilation of three losses and one draw in 2010.

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WEC 53 Predictions

Filed under: WEC
World Extreme Cagefighting puts on its 53rd and final fight card Thursday night, and we’ll say goodbye with what should be a very entertaining fight card, with one bout determining the first UFC bantamweight champion, and another deter…

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World Extreme Cagefighting puts on its 53rd and final fight card Thursday night, and we’ll say goodbye with what should be a very entertaining fight card, with one bout determining the first UFC bantamweight champion, and another determining the next UFC No. 1 contender.

What: WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis

Where: Jobing.com Arena, Glendale, Arizona

When: Thursday, the non-televised undercard begins at 7 PM ET and the Versus TV card begins at 9.

Predictions on the five televised fights below.

Donald Cerrone: I Feel Like I’m on the Chopping Block

Filed under: WECGLENDALE, Ariz. – Donald Cerrone may not be meeting his old pal Jamie Varner for a third time when the WEC rolls out its final event on Thursday night, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking about each other.

“I would love that fi…

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GLENDALE, Ariz. – Donald Cerrone may not be meeting his old pal Jamie Varner for a third time when the WEC rolls out its final event on Thursday night, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking about each other.

“I would love that fight again, and again, and in the parking lot, and wherever I can get it,” Cerrone said at Tuesday’s WEC 53 open workouts. “But it’ll come in due time. Hopefully he wins his next fight and I can see him in the UFC. I plan on whipping his a– every chance I get, so I don’t ever plan on letting him dictate one round or one second of any fight ever again.”

It’s a sentiment that’s likely shared by Varner, who recently described Cerrone as a “lonely, uneducated hillbilly” in an interview with MMA Fighting. But while Cerrone admitted he wasn’t aware of that latest salvo, even he seems to be on the verge of acknowledging that the time might have come for him to finally move on from that rivalry after winning a unanimous decision in their last meeting.

Some habits, however, die hard.