Varner will not retire

WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner insists he will not be retiring.

Varner is still struggling with a broken right hand, following his title defense against Donald Cerrone in January.

Youngstown Vindicator have previously reported that Varner may never fight again.

“I’m 24 years old, dude,” Varner told MMA FanHouse. “That statement was false. I talked to [WEC matchmaker] Sean [Shelby], and it looks like I’ll be fighting late this year or early next year.”

“My comments were really designed to allow Jamie to certainly come back when he was healthy, and this interim belt was done based on the fact that there’s no timetable for his return,” WEC general manager, Reed Harris, said

“Obviously, I’m sure there is some time frame placed on that, but we haven’t discussed that yet,” Harris said. “Right now, we’re just waiting for Jamie to heal up, and as soon as that happens his camp will notify us, and then we could begin to schedule another fight for him.”

Tags: WEC