Kansas City, KS – The Titan Fighting Championship (www.TitanFighting.com and @TitanFighting) in association with HDNet (www.HD.net) announced Wednesday that its Titan Fight Championship 20 event will be held on Friday, September 23 and will be headlined by former World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion Jamie Varner (17-5-1).
Squaring off Varner at the historic Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas in the 155 lbs. main event will be Bellator Fighting Championships lightweight tournament veteran and Omaha, Nebraska native Alonzo "Zo Diddy" Martinez (31-14-1).
"We’ve had the pleasure of featuring former world champions on many of our recent Titan Fighting events on HDNet and we are excited to continue that trend with Jamie Varner," said Titan Fighting Championship CEO Joe Kelly (@TheJGK). "Stylistically, Jamie and Alonzo are almost identical. Both are former wrestlers who aren’t afraid to let their hands go. Varner vs. Martinez will be a great way to kick off our fall schedule."
Varner has begun to regain momentum after a surprising fall from grace after losing the WEC title. Following a nearly six-month hiatus, Varner returned to the cage this past May at Jeff Curran’s XFO 39 and recorded first round technical submission over dangerous striker Tyler Combs.
With a career resume that not only includes once holding the WEC lightweight title but also notable wins over "Razor" Rob McCullough, "Cowboy" Donald Cerrone, and UFC veteran Kyle Bradley, Varner is poised for a career resurgence. The former college wrestler has re-tooled his game under the guidance of Mike Constantino of the AMA Fight Club in New Jersey.
At AMA, Varner has benefited from being able to train with UFC veterans Jim and Dan Miller as well as Charlie Brenneman on a daily basis.
"Jamie is re-focused and re-dedicated to MMA and demonstrated that by moving cross-country to New Jersey in order to work with one of the best camps in the country right now in AMA," said Kelly. "With AMA, he not only has a chance to return to his previous form but become better than he was when he was the reigning WEC lightweight champion."
Eschewing an easy return path to glory, Varner has once again chosen to test himself during his comeback by facing the rough and rugged Martinez, who will enter the contest in the midst of a four fight win streak. Two of those victories occurred at Titan Fighting Championship 16 and 17 and Martinez is currently 9-1 in his last ten bouts.
"Titan Fighting Championship 20 will not be a made-for-TV comeback vehicle for Jamie," Kelly began. "Alonzo is no joke and having won nine out of his last ten, a win over Varner is the icing on the cake he needs to earn a long-term contract with a major national promotion."
In addition to the Varner vs. Martinez bout, "HDNet Presents: Titan Fighting Championship 20" will also feature the return of rising national bantamweight sensation Anthony "Sharkbait" Guiterrez (3-0) from Lee’s Summit, Missouri as he takes on Laramie Schaffer (4-2) from Omaha, Nebraska.
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