Jamie Varner: ‘I don’t want to be hated’
PDG: The WEC recently announced that on Saturday, April 24th, they are holding their first pay-per-view. Your name was not…
PDG: The WEC recently announced that on Saturday, April 24th, they are holding their first pay-per-view. Your name was not amongst those announced; are you fighting on that card?
Jamie Varner: As far as I know I am fighting on the pay-per-view portion of that card. I was told that I would be fighting on the same card as Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber.
PDG: Have you discussed possible opponents with the WEC?
Jamie Varner: They have given me a few options including Shane Roller, Kamal Shalorus and Alex Karalexis.
PDG: Do you have any preferences as to who your opponent will be?
Jamie Varner: I would like to fight Shane because I think that Kamal is still a little too new to the fans and the sport and I think that by beating Shane it will earn me some respect and put me right back at the top of the division and give me a chance to fight the winner of the Ben Henderson versus Donald Cerrone match up.
PDG: Did you suffer any injuries in your lost to Ben Henderson last month?
Jamie Varner: No, fortunately I did not suffer any injuries although I wish we could have engaged more during the fight and fought a little bit harder than we did. I think I suffered enough injuries in my fight with Donald Cerrone to last a lifetime.
PDG: That’s what I was getting at, even though the outcome of the fight wasn’t what you were hoping for it must have been nice to not have to take any down time before starting to train again.
Jamie Varner: I took one day off and then I was back at the gym training. My trainer actually got on me and said that I was not allowed to do any sparring or grappling because he said that I needed a mental break but I could do weight training and conditioning. So after a couple of days of that, I was able to sneak into the gym and get in some grappling sessions and boxing work.
PDG: Right after the fight with Henderson you were pretty pissed off about the outcome; now after having some time to reflect on the fight, what are your thoughts and were you able to pick up on any mistakes that you made in the fight?
Jamie Varner: Yes, I am an emotional fighter and a lot of people don’t understand that in this sport you only get one opportunity. It’s not like baseball where you get tagged out or strike out and you still get to come to bat again in the same game and it’s not like playing offensive tackle in the NFL where if you miss a block and your quarterback gets sacked, there is another play after that. If you get toasted as a cornerback and the receiver scores a touchdown, the game is not over but in mixed martial arts if you make one mistake….it’s game over. I still don’t think that a lot of people understand the pressure that puts upon the fighters and I was really trying to engage in that fight with Henderson but it didn’t seem like he wanted any part of it. He was fighting not to lose and not necessarily looking for the win and I don’t know if that was part of his game plan or what was going on. I was being cautious in the third round because I knew that I won the first two rounds but he kept throwing those kicks even though I was able to block most of them with my arms I didn’t want to take a good shot. I went for the takedown to secure the round and it wasn’t a good one, I got caught in the guillotine choke and it was over.
PDG: Does the recent negative fan reaction bother you?
Jamie Varner: It’s all fine because those people booing are not the ones out there fighting. People can love me and they can hate me but they can never deny the fact that I am a good fighter. No one can deny the fact that every time I go out there I lay it all on the line. I try to make fights as entertaining as possible for the fans, I swing for the fences, I can wrestle, I can grapple and I can do it all. I may be an emotional fighter but I am a good fighter that looks to entertain the fans and although I may come off as a little immature at times, that is just who I am. When people get to know me I’m a really good person but when I get into that cage, I flip the switch and become an animal. In this sport you have to strive for perfection and if you are not pissed off when you lose a fight then something is wrong with you. I am a sore loser and that is a good thing because that is what made me a world champion.
