Varner, who last competed earlier this year with a victory over Nate Jolly for XFC, will be in action on February 10 at XFC 16: High Stakes from the Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Overall, Varner carries a record of 18-6-1 in his career, including mark of 2-3-1 in his last six bouts. Varner was released from the WEC after back-to-back defeats at the hands of Shane Roller and Donald Cerrone.

“I am very thankful that they are giving me another opportunity,” Varner said. “(John) Prisco and the XFC made me want to fight again!”

Prisco, the president of XFC, said in a statement, “This is a big acquisition for the XFC. We are still working on the opponent, but Jamie will make his next appearance for us at ‘High Stakes’ in February.”

PHOTO CREDIT – WEC

XFC 14 is headlined by former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner, possibly on the brink of retirement, looking to fight his way back to the big stage against Nate Jolly. In the co-main event, UFC veteran Carmelo Marrero battles Scott Barrett in a heavyweight bout.

MAIN CARD

Bruce Connors vs. John Mahlow

Fight Recap: The first round was all Mahlow. He got an early takedown and stayed on top for over four minutes. He didn’t do a ton of damage but he did manage to open up a cut near the eye of Connors with an elbow. Connors showed some life at the end of the round, getting up and going for a guillotine. The second round was all on the feet with neither man doing a whole lot. Mahlow controlled the distance with good leg kicks but there weren’t many significant exchanges. At the end of the round Connors went for a takedown but Mahlow stuffed it and almost locked in a guillotine. The third round was a repeat of the second. No big exchanges and Mahlow bruised up the lead leg of Connors with leg kicks. Not a great fight and a very bad performance by Connors. An easy decision for Mahlow.

Result: John Mahlow def. Bruce Connors via Unanimous Decision

Mike Bernhard vs. Mikey Gomez

Fight Recap: A lot of clinching in the first round of this fight. Gomez kept going for takedowns but Bernhard stuffed the majority of them. Gomez got one takedown but didn’t do anything with it. Bernhard did a nice job making Gomez pay with knees in the clinch. Very slow round. Bernhard stuffed another takedown early but then got knocked down from a leg kick. Gomez got on top and almost got caught in an armbar but did a nice job defending and eventually getting out. Gomez then worked his way to the mount, got the back, and sunk in a rear naked choke for the win.

Result: Mikey Gomez def. Mike Bernhard via Submission Round 2 (Rear Naked Choke)

Nicolae Cury vs. Elijah Harshbargar

Fight Recap: Harshbargar went for an early takedown but Cury stuffed it and put Harshbargar on his back. Cury quickly moved to mount and locked on an armbar as Harshbargar tried to push off the cage. Beautiful finish by Cury in the first round.

Result: Nicolae Cury def. Elijah Harshbargar via Submission Round 1 (Armbar)

Josh Clark vs. Reggie Pena

Fight Recap: Very competitive first round with Pena getting a takedown every time he shot, but Clark always damaged him with some sort of strike when Pena would move in. Clark did more damage with his strikes, but Pena did score with four takedowns and had the dominant positions on the ground. The second round was very competitive as well with both men landing their fair share of heavy strikes. Pena once again scored with takedowns though, which could have given him the round. Pena dominated the third round, getting an early takedown and landing some good ground and pound. Pena rocked Clark with an uppercut in a scramble and finished the round on top, pounding away on Clark. Good fight for the most part. Pena should win the decision.

Result: Reggie Pena def. Josh Clark via Unanimous Decision

Molly Helsel vs. Marianna Kheyfets

Fight Recap: Kheyfets got off to a slow start and Helsel took advantage of it by scoring with an early takedown and controlling things on the ground. Kheyfets didn’t get a lot going in the first round and the takedown, even though Helsel didn’t do much with it, should have been enough to give her the round. The second round was all on the feet with Kheyfets getting the better of things with her right hand and speed. Helsel hung tough and landed some good punches but Kheyfets was more active and did more damage. Kheyfets bsuted the nose of Helsel early in the third with a right hand, continued to use her speed, and solidified the round with a couple of takedowns. Good comeback by Kheyfets, who should win the decision after dropping the first round.

Result: Marianna Kheyfets def. Molly Helsel via Unanimous Decision

Scott Barrett vs. Carmelo Marrero

Fight Recap: The first round was all on the feet except the final 30 seconds when Barrett got a takedown. Both fighters landed some heavy punches with Marrero landing the cleaner strikes and landing in more volume. Marrero landed a good right on the eye of Barrett that caused it to start swelling. The second round got off to a hot start with both men just standing and trading. Things slowed down a bit in the clinch but every time they were separated, they just stood in front of each other and swung away. Both men were dead tired in the third round. Marrero busted the nose of Barrett early but otherwise there was a lot of clinching. They tried to hit each other hard but didn’t have the gas to do so. This fight was a slobber knocker and bowling shoe ugly. Marrero should win the decision as he landed more and did more damage.

Result: Carmelo Marrero def. Scott Barrett via Unanimous Decision

Nate Jolly vs. Jamie Varner

Fight Recap: Jolly got an early takedown and fended off a kneebar but Varner scrambled up, got a takedown of his own, landed a big right hand in the guard, and then finished him with a flurry of punches on the ground. Jolly went unconscious, forcing the ref to step in. Good bounce back win for Varner. The fight lasted 1:09.

Result: Jamie Varner def. Nate Jolly via KO Round 1 (Punches)

News of the match-up was revealed in an official press release where Titan FC head Joe Kelly expressed excitement at the pairing, labeling both as “wrestlers who aren’t afraid to let their hands go.”

The well-rounded 26-year old scored his first win since being let go by Zuffa after going 0-3-1 in his final four WEC bouts. Varner choked Tyler Combs out cold last May early on in the opening round to improve his overall record to 17-5-1. The submission marked his tenth overall, though his powerful striking and relative fearlessness in the ring have also netted five TKOs as well.

Martinez is currently riding a four-fight winning streak with two of his triumphs coming under the Titan FC banner. He is 31-14-1 in his career with 25 stoppages meaning Varner should be in for a stiff challenge when the two clash in Kansas City.

More Titan FC 20 bouts are expected to be come out this week with the only other announced pairing thus far involving undefeated bantamweight Anthony Gutierrez taking on Nebraskan Laramie Schaffer. The event will be broadcast live on HDNet.

PHOTO CREDIT – WEC/TITANFC

News of the 26-year old’s release was first reported by PunchDrunkGamer, where Varner stated, “I am ready for 2011 – there will be some changes in my game. It has been a nice ride with the WEC but its time for a change. Perhaps UFC will be in my future down the road… We shall see!”

Prior to the Arizona native’s recent run of bad luck in the ring he had emerged victorious in fifteen of his previous sixteen fights including success against Donald Cerrone, Marcus Hicks, and Rob McCullough in WEC. He is 16-4 in his career with only a single win brought about by the judges’ scorecards.

Had Varner crossed over from WEC to the UFC it would have been his second run in the organization after going 1-1 during a short stint in 2006-2007.

WEC 53, already announced as featuring a pair of title bouts, has added a quartet of lightweight contenders to its line-up in what will be a final audition for viewers prior to the group merging with the UFC’s star-studded 155-pound division in 2011.

According to the WEC itself, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Jamie Varner will be fighting on the card…but not against each other. Cerrone will face 23-year old Chris Horodecki at the Glendale event, while Arizona’s own Varner has been paired up with Shane Roller.

Cerrone is coming off a victory over the afore-mentioned Varner, while Horodecki has won back-to-back bouts and is 4-1 in his last five. Both are known for being fairly fearless strikers and should keep fans on their feet from start to finish as a result.

Not as fortunate in their previous outings, Varner and Roller will both be looking to right their proverbial ships when they mix it up in earlier main-card action. Roller lost via submission in the final seconds of his match-up with contender Anthony Pettis at WEC 50, while former WEC lightweight champ Varner hasn’t notched a win since barely out-pointing “The Cowboy” in a controversial result almost two years ago at WEC 38. Since then, in addition to Cerrone, he has fallen to current 155-pound title-holder Ben Henderson and drawn against Kamal Shalorus.

On top of the previously mentioned scraps, WEC 53 – set for December 16th – will also feature Henderson defending his belt against Pettis, as well as bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz putting his strap on the line against Scott Jorgensen.

Headliners Manny Gamburyan and WEC featherweight champ Jose Aldo measured in without incident. In fact, both men weighed 145-pounds on the dot. Aldo will put his title on the line for the second time in his career during the main event, the first defense being a dominating decision win over Urijah Faber at WEC 48 last April.

While their weigh-in may have gone off without a hitch, the same could not be said for a number of the other match-ups including that featuring former 135-pound champion Miguel Torres. Torres came in slightly heavy for his bout against Charlie Valencia but was eventually able to make the 136 pound limit after stripping down.

Also notable were lightweight rivals Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone for going head-to-head during the proceedings…literally. The two, who came in at 156 and 155.5 pounds respectively, had to be separated by WEC officials after aggressively pressing their foreheads together throughout their pairing’s standard stare-down.

WEC 51 will be broadcast on the Versus Network starting at 9:00 PM EST. In addition to the above fights, the event also features George Roop facing Chan Sung Jung, aka “The Korean Zombie”, and Leonard Garcia testing his stand-up against well-rounded veteran Mark Hominick.

Here is a complete rundown of WEC 51 weigh-in results:

Nick Pace (135 lbs) vs. Demetrious Johnson (135 lbs)
Chad George (135 lbs) vs. Antonio Banuelos (136 lbs)
Diego Nunes (145 lbs) vs. Tyler Toner (145 lbs)
Cole Province (146 lbs) vs. Mike Brown (145 lbs)
Pablo Garza (154 lbs) vs. Tiequan Zhang (154 lbs)
Ed Ratcliff (155 lbs) vs. Chris Horodecki (155 lbs)
Mark Hominick (145 lbs) vs. Leonard Garcia (146 lbs)
George Roop (145 lbs) vs. Chan Sung Jung (146 lbs)
Charlie Valencia (136 lbs) vs. Miguel Torres (136 lbs)
Donald Cerrone (155.5 lbs) vs. Jamie Varner (156 lbs)
Manny Gamburyan (145 lbs) vs. Jose Aldo (145 lbs)

His statement comes on the heels of a hard-fought bout between personal rival Donald Cerrone and newly crowned interim champ Ben Henderson this past Saturday night. It reads as follows:

First of all I want to apologize to Donald Cerrone for every ill word I ever said about him. I’d also like to apologize to all his fans and anyone else I may have pissed off by my actions. Donald is a great fighter that fights with all heart and he’s my toughest fight to date. I wish him nothing but the best and it was an honor to fight a fighter with such heart and skill.

I have a tough test ahead. I’m really looking forward to getting back in there and proving to all of you why I am the WEC lightweight champ. I know there are always gonna be haters. I hope most of you accept my apology because you guys are the reason why I’m able to do what I love for a living. Thanks for taking the time to read this and its time to go train.

The bad blood between both fighters originated shortly after Varner defeated “The Cowboy” at WEC 38 earlier this year. The bout was stopped midway through the fifth frame when Cerrone landed an illegal knee which led to the champion complaining of some trouble seeing. A technical decision was issued in Varner’s favor leaving some, including his opponent, feeling as though he may have been trying to take an easy way out instead of risking a loss in the last few minutes of the round. Their rivalry was even alleged to have extended a backstage confrontation at UFC 101 of which Cerrone said, “Sh*t was about to go down. The things I said to him as a man, I can’t believe you would stand there and take…”

Thus far no response has been issued from Cerrone in regards to Varner’s extension of a proverbial olive branch.

Varner recently spoke with Tapout Radio about the interim championship bout being held in his absence and the eventual showdown with the winner.

Varner said he will be interested in the winner of WEC 43 main event bout between Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Ben Henderson, but doesn’t think hell have much trouble defeating either of them.

If Cerrone beats Henderson, Varner said,”The game plan is to do exactly what I did last time, which is to kick his ass, the same as last time. My boxing, I was a national champion in boxing. I fought Golden Gloves when I was younger. I was a pretty good boxer, a pretty good wrestler.”

If Henderson should be the eventual winner, Varner said he will use his abilities on the mat against him, explaining,”I wrestled Division I. I was an All-American. I took second in nationals. I was a good wrestler. I’m a better wrestler than Ben Henderson is.

“I’m not really too worried about what Ben Henderson has to bring, or Cowboy. I see both of those fights ending the same way, with my hand raised and the belt wrapped around my waist.”

Varner also commented on Cerrone’s continuous trash talk about the champion and their first meeting back in WEC 38. Varner was declared the winner by Technical Decision when the fight was stopped in the final round when Cerrone landed a knee that was determined to be illegal, and Varner was unable to continue, stating,”Cowboy’s first fight after he fought me was against a guy who it was his debut in the WEC. He beat that guy, which was kind of a garbage fight… His next fight is going to be against Ben Henderson on Oct. 10 in San Antonio. If he wins that fight, then he’ll fight me… He has to earn it because he lost that fight… He lost a decision and even though it was an illegal knee, it still went to the judges’ scorecards. He lost that fight, so he has to win one more fight if he wants to fight me ever again”

The champion Varner has been out of action due to injuries suffered in his defeat of Cerrone, back in January and even though he isn’t worried about a match-up against either competitor, he would like to see a rematch against Cerrone.

“I would be more than willing to give him a rematch,”said Varner. “I would be happily and readily available to give him a rematch if he gets through Ben Henderson. Even if he doesn’t get through Ben Henderson, he can come to my gym if we have a problem. We’ve got a cage there too. It doesn’t matter to me.”

The WEC interim bout is set to premier October 10th, with an eventual championship fight likely in early 2010.

It appears as though current WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner may be forced to the sidelines indefinitely.

According to a recent report on Vindy.com, WEC founder and general manager Reed Harris said that Varner may never fight again due to the broken foot and hand sustained in his previous bout with Donald Cerrone.

That match-up was cut short when Cerrone struck a downed Varner in the face with an illegal knee in the fifth round. When it was ruled that the defending champion was unable to continue, the fight went to the scorecards where Varner came away with the split decision victory.

It has been reported that the WEC plans to strip Varner of his title shortly.

A previously announced bout between Cerrone and has bee promoted to a title fight to determine the new WEC lightweight champion.

The fight will be the main event at WEC 43 which is set for September 2 in Youngstown, Ohio.

**Reed Harris has recently stated in a report on MMAJunkie.com that his comments were taken out of context in the report by Vindy.com and that Varner would not be stripped unless his injuries prevented him from returning to action. 

“Jamie is not stripped of the title,” Harris was quoted as saying. “We’re all hoping Jamie can come back later this year and defend his title against whoever wins the interim title.”

Cerrone vs. Henderson will be for the interim championship.

Varner fractured his hand in a close win over Donald Cerrone back in January. The current WEC lightweight champion posted on his Twitter account that the doctor who examined him “pulled the rug out from my feet” by telling Varner he won’t be ready to fight anytime soon.

WEC spokesman Dave Sholler said the organization wishes Varner a speedy recovery but at the same time the WEC can’t put a division title on hold and that they are working on the possibility of an interim title while waiting for Varner’s hand to heal.

“Right now, we’re considering it,” Sholler said of an interim title. “We have to consider it. Who will fight for it? We haven’t decided that as of yet. There are no firm plans yet, but it’s something we have discussed.

“There are a lot of great contenders in the lightweight division. We definitely feel some people are ready and chomping at the bit. Reed and Sean will keep discussing it.”

Sholler is hoping a decision regarding the interim title will be made by the end of the week.

WEC General Manager Reed Harris was able to confirm the bout to MMAJunkie.com following last evening’s WEC 41 event that was held in Sacramento, California. Varner vs. Cerrone II is expected to take place sometime in fall.

Varner has not returned to action since the bout with Cerrone in which he was ultimately awarded with the technical split decision following the foul. He has been plagued with a series of injuries since the bout including damage sustained to his eye from the Cerrone knee, a broken foot and more recently, a busted hand.

Cerrone got back to business last night as he wound up on the winning end of a first round rear-naked choke over James Krause setting up the highly anticipated rematch.

WEC Vice President Peter Dropick not only confirmed the possible rematch, but said that Varner’s home state of Arizona is being considered as a potential destination.

“Arizona is definitely possible for the rematch,” Dropick told Herman. “Their rules have changed.”

Varner is already on board for a second fight vs. Cerrone.

“Oh, hell yeah,” Varner is quoted in the report as responding when asked about possibly facing Cerrone again. “There will be a rematch. It was an honor to fight this guy. He’s still the number one contender. I can’t wait to fight him again.”

Varner and Cerrone headlined last Sunday’s WEC 38 event in San Diego, Calif. in a bout that ended in controversy. Varner was unable to continue after being on the receiving end of an illegal knee to the head by Cerrone. The match was called to a stop with the fight going to the judges’ scorecards despite the fact that nearly three minutes and thirty seconds remained in the bout. Varner was then declared the victor via split decision in the abbreviated contest.

The scheduling of the rematch may not happen for an extended duration due to the fact that Varner broke a bone in his foot as well as the index metacarpal on his right hand.

The 24-year old Arizona native was declared the split decision winner during his WEC lightweight title defense against Donald Cerrone after becoming the recipient of an illegal blow. As a result of the infraction, the fight was stopped with three and a half minutes remaining since Varner could not continue. The referee then referred to the scorecards with two of the three judges ruling in Varner’s favor.

In addition to the controversial end, a source close to the fighter that was speaking on the condition of anonymity revealed that Varner sustained both a broken foot and a broken hand during the course of the bout. While there was some concern regarding the condition of his eye, the source expressed that the injury was not believed to be serious. However, in light of suffering multiple fractures, Varner could be sidelined for several months.

It’s believed that once Varner heals, his first fight back could be a rematch against Cerrone.

“As soon as I get cleared by the athletic commission we can do this again real soon,” Varner said during a post-fight interview.

Marcus Hicks interview after the jump.

TUF 8 will feature lightweights and light heavyweights and will premiere on Wednesday, September 17, at 10:00 p.m. ET.

The release also confirms that Nogueira will defend his interim title vs. Mir on a yet-to-be determined pay-per-view event.

An unofficial source tells Cage Potato that the coaches have been signed for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, and they are none other than UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former champ Frank Mir.

This would indicate that Mir will get the next title shot against Nogueira and the two will likely face off in a pay per view extravaganza at the end of the season. Coming off of a season with personable guys like Forrest and Rampage, Nogueira and Mir may be a change for the worst. The UFC seems infatuated with making the coaches for TUF fight one another for a title at the end of the season but I don’t think Mir and Nogueira will be able to carry a season of TUF like Forrest and Rampage, Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture, etc.

Most of the fanbase only knows Frank Mir because he beat Brock Lesnar and most of them have no clue about Nogueira’s past history and likely have only seen him fight because they bought the UFC 81 pay per view that Lesnar vs. Mir was a part of. Putting these two as the coaches of the next season could prove to be costly as far as ratings go.

If you can read Portugese, the original website is here. If you can’t, a Google translation of the site is here.

Read more about Nogueira and Sylvia on FiveOunceOfPain.com.

I’ll be here. I have the belt. If he comes here, I am ready to face him,” said Nogueira.

For that to happen, a lot of miracles would have to take place and maybe even a few miracles after that. But clearly, Nogueira, the new UFC interim champion, would love the opportunity to avenge his prior defeats to Emelianenko.

However, Emelianenko is not with the UFC and does not look to be joining the top MMA organization anytime soon.

He has his own decisions. He chose another organization. I hope he has a good future there,” said Nogueira.

Still, for Nogueira, the question will always be out there as long as he is title holder: Will it be difficult to receive full championship credit when he never beat Randy Couture for the belt and he lost twice to Emelianenko, the man universally regarded as the best heavyweight in the world?

Yes, Nogueira holds the UFC belt, but just having the belt is not be enough to make him the #1 ranked heavyweight in the world. He’ll need some big victories over some top guys in order to ascend there.