Jamie "C-4" Varner defended his WEC lightweight title against Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone as part of the WEC 38 main event. Varner was hit with an illegal knee to his head while he was still on the ground during the opening minutes of the fifth and final round of the title match. Varner told the referee that he was unable to continue because the hit affected his vision, which forced judges to come about with a final decision. Varner remained as WEC lightweight champion, acquiring a split decision win over Cerrone.
Immediately after Varner's win, the crowed booed him for discontinuing the fight. Fight fans believed that the illegal hit had simply grazed the side of his head, which to them was a poor excuse for the final stoppage. Varner was angry with the boos he received and stated that he was willing to rematch Cerrone as soon as he was fully recovered.
Snip from WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner:
fight. I had to get a bunch of X-Rays done, a CAT scan, I had to go get
surgery on my hand, I’m gonna have to get my foot casted, I have to go
back to the doctor and have my eyes checked out again, all that stuff
adds up. It’s crazy that people can sit there and talk shit about me
when they have no idea what I did [on Sunday night]. I laid it all on
the line, I put my body through Hell. My hand’s broken, I can barely
walk, my foot’s broken, I’m on crutches and I got a cast on my hand. I
don’t know what the hell people wanted from me. It’s crazy.”
