After 11 years and 35 fights as a professional, former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner called it quits in 2014. Throughout his career, Varner had memorable battles with the likes of former UFC champion Ben Henderson, “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone and others, but of his last six fights, he managed to win only one. That’s why “C-4” retired at only 30 years old – an age where other fighters tend to start reaching their prime.
“My career got cut short because I was sparring three days a week, with bigger opponents,” Varner says in an interview with Cage Fanatic. “I had Ryan Bader, Aaron Simpson, Carlos Condit. Those were my sparring partners from like 2006 to 2010. So I had a lot of head trauma just sparring with those big guys.”
Varner feels that, as a fighter, you don’t need as much sparring as most implement in their training regimen. In fact, taking too many punches in training over the years is bad for your career from a long-term perspective, he says. That’s why he warns all young up-and-comers to cut down on the sparring.
“If I could give any advice to young, upcoming fighters – you’re a fighter, you don’t need to spar to prove how tough you are. So spar once a week. […] “Sparring is a tool that is used to work on game plans, and to see where you are condition wise, cardiovascularly. You don’t need to spar three days a week to prove you’re tough. You’re fighting in the UFC, you’re obviously tough.”
According to Varner, even with proper protection gear, too much sparring can be harmful. And while he advises everybody to always use head protection during sparring sessions, he also explains that wearing head gear is no justification for getting hit in the face five times a week.
“You should definitely wear the headgear, it will protect your brain just a little extra. Wear the 16 oz gloves; you don’t need to spar with little MMA gloves. And I think that will help prolong people’s fighting careers. […] “The headgear protects you from getting cut, but it’s still blunt force trauma man. I wore headgear pretty much my whole career. I’ve been knocked out once – in 35 fights I’ve been knocked out one time. But all the trauma I’ve had sparring wise, I had headgear. You can still get a concussion and not get knocked out. So headgear or no headgear, you should spar once a week.
Varner says there are other ways to train for a fight than to fight. Young prospects, who want to have a long and healthy career, should focus on other aspects of training and spare the fighting for the actual fight as much as possible.
“The purpose of a fight is to give your opponent a concussion. That’s the purpose of a fight. That’s never going to change. Sparring once a week, maybe once every other week, and only sparring to prepare for a fight. You don’t need to spar in off season. You don’t need to spar 12 weeks out from a fight. Spar maybe four to six weeks out from a fight. If they want to get more conditioning, go run, go grapple, go wrestle, hit the bag. You don’t need to get hit in the head to become a better fighter.”
Varner pulled out before it was too late for him. At 30 years old, he is still young and healthy enough to do something else with his life and start another chapter — a life after fighting — something which you need to prepare for when you are still active, he says. Varner will stay with the UFC and work as an advisor in the athlete development department. The role seems to fit perfectly for the UFC veteran.
“I’m going to be helping young fighters with budgeting their money, preparing for their future, and how to handle social media and press. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my career, and I want to help other fighters from going through the same roller coaster ride that I did.”
He did one thing right though: he knew when it was time to go. Many of his former comrades-in-arms didn’t. Leaving the spotlight can be hard for a long-time veteran, but Varner had no problem letting go, he says.
“You know what? I had an awesome career. I won big fights. I won a world title. I am happy with what I accomplished.”