Jamie Varner certainly can’t be accused of being a coward by any stretch of the imagination. His dramatic defeat at the hands of James Krause proved it.
Even though he lost Saturday’s UFC 173 pay-per-view opener and suffered two broken bones and torn ligaments in his foot, Varner barely appeared to feel the serious injury.
UFC President Dana White admitted to reporters that even he was “uncomfortable” watching the fight:
“Usually guys quit. Guys will tap out and say, ‘I broke my ankle. I’m laid out.’ But there was no quit in that kid. So that’s one of those situations where he kept going. I don’t know. That’s a tough [decision to make]. But, by the end of that round, he was done,” White shared.
Jamie Varner, the former WEC champion, was clearly in a lot of pain as his foot just seemed to give way beneath him when he tried to stand to finish the the fight with Krause.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan said: “His leg is just gone,” and after the first frame, despite his bravery in the face of some serious pain, Varner relented and admitted that he was unable to continue with the fight and conceded defeat to Krause.
White, when talking to reporters about the fight , went on to suggest that if he had been the one advising Jamie Varner in his corner the fight would not have make it as far as it did.
“If that was my guy, I would have thrown the towel in in a second. There are times when you see somebody just taking unbelievable damage. Jamie Varner sucked it up. He had a broken leg, which had to be unbelievably painful, and he just – I can’t say enough about the kid,” said White, concluding: “Varner’s all heart.”