Jamie Varner lost his belt, he lost subsequent fights, and he ultimately lost his job with the WEC and UFC.Then he lost his teammates, his trainers, his camp and – for a time – any desire to compete in mixed martial arts.
"At first, I was going to retire," he recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "The first three or four months after my last (WEC) fight in December, I wanted nothing to do with the sport. I wouldn't watch it on TV. I didn't want to hear about it. When I got cut from Zuffa, I felt like my girlfriend left me."
After a victory over Jason Gilliam at UFC 68, Varner headed to the WEC, where he won the lightweight strap in just his second outing. He defended the belt twice, but his reign proved a controversial one. While having a legion of fans, Varner's critics were numerous (and vocal). They questioned his heart – especially after a high-profile title fight with Donald Cerrone ended early due to an illegal knee to his head.
Varner was sidelined a year by injuries suffered in the fight, but admittedly, he's never been one to get much in the way of sympathy.
Upon his return, Varner lost his belt to Ben Henderson. It began a four-fight winless skid that included losses to Cerrone and Shane Roller. But none of the fights stung worse than the split draw with Kamal Shalorus at WEC 49.
"It broke my heart," Varner said. "It made me really question myself and question the sport, and what I was doing. I really thought that fight was one-sided, and it went downhill from there.
"After I didn't get the nod there, my mind just completely switched. It was bad. I lost a lot of the drive. I felt like I got screwed over, and I was feeling sorry for myself. I was taking fights out of emotion rather than rationalization. It's still painful for me to watch that fight."
For a fighter who's been labeled everything from a whiner and disingenuous to a target and misunderstood, things were about to get even more complicated.
In the midst of his skid, Varner also saw his team at Arizona Combat Sports fall apart. Team staples such as Ryan Bader, C.B. Dollaway and Aaron Simpson split from trainers Todd Lally and Trevor Lally and opened their own training center. Varner said the Lally brothers just weren't the same afterward.
"After C.B. Dollaway, Ryan Bader and all those guys left the gym, I think they kind of lost love for the sport as well," he said of the trainers. "They worked so hard to get those guys where they were at, and when all those guys left, there was just me. I remained loyal, but I don't think it really mattered how loyal I was. Their heart just wasn't in it. I wasn't getting the attention or training or motivation I needed from them. I'm a motivated person ... but I need to go somewhere where I can get my butt kicked."
Varner, of course, wasn't invited to be a part of his former teammates' new venture, Power MMA and Fitness. Varner said the bad blood began when he gave an interview and said he was the hardest-working fighter in the gym. He said he didn't mean it as a knock at the Arizona Combat Sports fighters but that they took it that way.
In the months after, any shot at reconciliation disappeared as Varner and his ex-teammates lobbied insults at each other through the media and social-networking sites.
Varner, already in a funk, then got the worst news. Despite a merger that would send nearly all WEC fighters to the UFC, Varner wouldn't be one of them.
Yes, it sucked. But he wasn't all that shocked.
"The UFC had to do what they had to do," he said. "I just wasn't fighting like myself at the time."
But he's not counting out a return. In fact, if he gets the call back to the UFC, he believes it'll be so as a new person and a new fighter.
Varner recently moved to the East Coast. He's close to officially enrolling at Seton Hall University and completing a degree. Additionally, famed trainer Mike Constantino took Varner under his wing at AMA Fight Club, and he also has been working with Tiger Schulmann. With the likes of Jim Miller, Dan Miller, Charlie Brennaman and a host of kickboxing and grappling notables, he's getting worked over everyday with his new training partners.
"I came out here, got my butt kicked, and I loved it," he said. "Fighting is fun again."
Varner recently got back in the cage and scored a submission victory over proven vet Tyler Combs at XFO 39. He also was under consideration for a DREAM.17 fight with Shinya Aoki, though the two fighters couldn't agree on a weight.
Still, he thinks he's headed in the right direction. And ultimately, he thinks the path will lead to the octagon.
"I definitely enjoyed my five months off," Varner said. "It was much needed rest. I had a very rough 2010, but 2011 is starting off with some decent momentum and a bang, so I'm really looking forward to big some things happening this year.
"I have a feeling I'm probably one or two wins away from getting the call from the UFC."
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