Former UFC fighter Jamie Varner has said too much sparring leads to early retirement

HE was one of the UFC’s best, but was forced into early retirement. Now, Jamie Varner is trying to stop other fighters suffering the same fate.

UFC fighter Robert Whittaker

A FORMER UFC fighter and WEC lightweight champion has revealed the huge mistake forcing mixed martial artists into early retirement.

In an impressive career spanning 11 years, Jamie Varner clocked up 35 professional fights including battles with former UFC champion Ben Henderson and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.

However, while in training for his fight with Drew Dober last December, the veteran lightweight took a heavy blow to the head which led to a concussion.

Varner had scans and doctors determined he had sustained more than 30 concussions during his career.

Fearing long-term repercussions from the sheer amount of trauma he suffered, his doctor recommended the mixed martial artist retire after his clash with Dober.

Varner stuck to the advice and called quits on his career after losing to a first-round submission.

“I don’t think I was really ready for retirement or prepared for it,” he told Cage Fanatic.

“If I wasn’t so concerned with my brain I would still be competing, but I want to have kids some day and I don’t want to have early onset Alzheimer’s or dementia when I am 40 or 50-years-old.

“I want to be able to have kids, hang out with them and have a really fun and productive life.”

The fighter had no idea he had sustained more than 30 concussions.

The brawler said he was unaware he had received so many concussions during his career.

“I felt like I was in a perpetual state of just constant migraines,” he told the MMA Hour.

“I thought it was normal and that’s what we have to do as fighters. Part of the cross that we bear is having headaches and being beat up.”

Varner has been vocal in blaming excessive sparring as the main factor behind his forced retirement in a hope to prevent other fighters suffering the same fate.

“My career got cut short because I was sparring three days a week, with bigger opponents,” he told Cage Fanatic.

“I had Ryan Bader, Aaron Simpson and 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.”

As a lightweight, Varner was sparring light-heavyweight fighter Ryan Bader.

Varner said too many fighters are hindering their long-term careers by sparring too much in the gym.

“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,” he said.

“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 [fighters] 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 recommends fighters hit the bag instead of each other.

The fighter said proper protective gear does offer some protection, but it does not do enough to condone multiple sparring sessions a week.

“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,” he said.

“The headgear protects you from maybe getting cut, but it’s still blunt force trauma.

“You can still get a concussion and not get knocked out. So headgear or no headgear, I just think spar once a week.”

Former professional football player and current UFC heavy weight fighter Brendan Schaub echoed the Varner’s sentiments while making an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

“I agree 100 per cent with Jamie,” he told Joe Rogan.

UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub knows better than most.

As for his future, Varner is working with a cognitive therapist three or four times per month to try and reverse some of the damage already caused by the multiple concussions.

Currently, he forgets simple things like whether or not he brushed his teeth in the morning and he has trouble articulating simple words.

“There’s going to be something down the road that I would be looking to do to help these young fighters and even help some of the older fighters prepare for the life after fighting,” he told the MMA Hour.