5 fighters who starred in the WEC but struggled in the UFC

#4 Jamie Varner

Jamie Varner (right) won gold in the WEC but struggled in the UFC

Lightweight Jamie Varner made his UFC debut back in 2006 and after a tough fight, he was submitted by then-top contender Hermes Franca. After bouncing back with his first UFC win – a submission of Jason Gilliam – ‘C-4’ found himself in an interesting position; he was the first fighter to move directly from the UFC to the newly-purchased WEC.

Right away, Varner had success in the smaller promotion. He defeated Sherron Leggett in his debut, then upset WEC Lightweight champion Rob McCullough, knocking him out to claim his first MMA title. Another knockout win – this time over Marcus Hicks – gave him his first title defense, and he was well on his way to beating a raw Donald Cerrone in his second before the fight had to be stopped due to an illegal knee. As the fight was already in the final round, the judges awarded ‘C-4’ a technical decision win.

A year on the shelf followed, with Varner recovering from various injuries, before he returned and was defeated by Benson Henderson, dropping his title in the process. ‘C-4’ then fought to a draw with Kamal Shalorus in a controversial fight that most observers had him winning, before losing his final two WEC fights to Cerrone and wrestler Shane Roller.

The two losses left Varner on the outside looking in as the WEC’s fighters were moved to the UFC, but in 2012, he was brought back to the Octagon in a late notice fight with Edson Barboza – and in a major shock, Varner knocked him out in one of the biggest wins of his career.

However, from there, the former WEC champ just couldn’t find any traction, going 1-5 in his next 6 fights before his retirement in late 2014. Essentially, despite being a very talented fighter, ‘C-4’ should probably be considered a fine example of someone who was better as a big fish in a smaller pond.