It’s no secret, Jamie Varner wants Ben Henderson next

By Brett Okamoto

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 | 11:30 p.m.

Like all fighters do just before a bout, former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner swears his focus begins and ends with his next fight.

He doesn't care about the past or anything that lies ahead. The goal is to take out Kamal Shalorus in their main-event fight at WEC 49 in Edmonton, Alberta, this weekend. That's it.

All the talk about not looking ahead sounds pretty convincing — until someone mentions "Ben Henderson."

"To be honest with you, Ben is a good guy, but some of the stuff he says — he thinks he's a little better than he is," Varner said. "I just really felt like the guy hit the lottery when he got me in a guillotine."

The 25-year-old fighter had a five-fight winning streak disappear in January when he suffered a submission loss to Henderson in the third round of their title fight in Sacramento, Calif.

Many had Varner (16-3-2) ahead on the scorecards when Henderson locked in a standing guillotine and forced Varner to tap almost instantly.

While the outcome obviously wasn't what Varner wanted, he admitted it didn't come as a shock.

A string of personal problems had thrown off his training and messed with his mentality leading into the fight.

"I had a lot of personal things that I don't want to use as excuses, but I wasn't able to focus," Varner said. "My mom was diagnosed with cervical cancer a few months before the fight and anybody who knows me, knows my mom is my rock.

"When I went into the Ben fight, I had accepted losing before I lost. I only saw myself losing one way and that was that guillotine, but I had accepted it. It was weird."

The string of events leading up to the loss of his title has clearly, and understandably, left Varner with a sour taste in his mouth.

After winning the title in a controversial win over Cerrone in January 2009, Varner was sidelined for an entire year because of injuries he suffered to his hand and foot.

The WEC then took a little value away from the belt Varner held, creating an interim title in his absence.

Finally, after a year off, Varner looked to prove he was the true champion, only to get caught by Henderson in the middle of a fight he had been dominating.

Now Henderson has stated that he'd rather not face fighters a second time, as he wants new challenges instead — a request that obviously doesn't sit well with Varner.

"He doesn't have that decision-making power," Varner said. "Ben knows, it's because of fear. Shane (Roller) and I both know, you don't shoot in on that guy. You don't give that guy your neck and you win that fight."

As much as Varner wants to knock Henderson off the top of the division, he does realize that opportunity won't come if he turns in a poor performance against Shalorus (6-0-1) on Sunday.

Varner has the unique advantage of seeing things from the other side of the situation. His rivalry with Cerrone turned into one of the most bitter in the WEC last year and, according to Varner, was part of the reason "Cowboy" came up short to Henderson in his last fight.

"Kamal is my No. 1 focus. I can't do what Donald did and overlook a guy," Varner said. "Kamal is the toughest guy you've never heard of. When you get in there, all it takes is one mistake, and Kamal is definitely the type of fighter who can expose a mistake."

Should things go smoothly for Varner in what will be the first WEC card fought outside of the U.S., general manager Reed Harris already has hinted he could be in line for the next lightweight title shot.

Despite trying to sound as if he doesn't care at the moment about something like that, in the middle of talking about Henderson, Varner lets it slip that, well, that's exactly what's on his mind.

"If I just keep that fight on the feet, he can run all day and all night but I'll at least get a decision victory," Varner said. "I'm really looking forward to getting through this fight with Kamal."

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].