UFC on Fox 4's Jamie Varner excited for "golden opportunity" against Joe Lauzon

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Jamie Varner's surprising return to the UFC earlier this year made for a great moment, as the former WEC Champion returned to Zuffa in fantastic form with a win over Edson Barboza. That was a completely unexpected result for most, especially since he took the fight on short notice.

After that booking, he's gotten another late notice fight on next week's UFC on Fox 4 event in Los Angeles, taking on Joe Lauzon. For Varner, the fight represents another no-lose situation for him.

""It just seemed like another golden opportunity," Varner said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com. "It's a win-win situation just like the Edson Barboza fight. One, it's short-notice, and two it's another guy arguably in the top 15 in the world. I'm supposed to lose to a guy like Joe Lauzon."

"But if I go out there and I beat Joe Lauzon, it catapults my career once again. I take another big step forward. It would put me right in the mix of top 10 guy, and my fight next could be a No. 1 contender fight. There's everything to gain, and really nothing to lose."

Varner has won three straight and four of his last five after a four-fight winless streak ended his run with Zuffa in the WEC. However, despite that still recent string of losses, Varner hopes to still make a run in the UFC's lightweight division.

"I expected to win [against Barboza]," Varner said. "I know I was the underdog, but I don't fight guys I don't think I can beat. I was just more happy that I got the second chance [in the UFC] and I was able to make the most of it. That was probably the thing that made me the most excited, not so much the guy I beat and the win, but the fact I made the most of the opportunity...

"I want to make the most of this second chance with the UFC ? and fighting on Fox, I can't even put it into words. It's such an opportunity to catapult myself and my career."

Penick's Analysis: Varner, despite some issues in the past couple of years, definitely has the skills to put together a run if he's focused and performs in the cage. He's a well rounded, talented fighter, but he had a combination of mental mistakes and poor performances in that four-fight stretch that set him back and kept him from coming right into the UFC along with the rest of the WEC roster. If he can curb those issues, he definitely can compete. This is a huge chance for him to take another step up the ladder in the division, and it's up to him now to pull it off on August 4.

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