Jamie Varner has not recieved the UFC axe…not yet

Former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner has lost two-in-a-row in a time in his career when he could least afford to.

Recently, World Extreme Cagefighting has since merged with it’s sister promotion the Ultimate Fighting Championship, both promotion’s fall under the Zuffa LLC. banner. Among the acquisition of both the bantamweight and featherweight divisions, a stacked 155-pound class has since been assimilated into the UFC.

With the high influx of fighters, many have since found themselves fighting for their jobs in most recent events, with the lightweight class being atop of the chopping block.

But for Varner, it looks like that his accolades within the WEC have saved him for the time being. According to MiddleEasy.com, Jamie has yet to be released from his contract from Zuffa.

The UFC veteran claimed the WEC title in February of 2008 when he TKO’d then champion Rob McCullough, a kickboxing specialist, inside of the third round.

From there, Varner made two successful defenses of his title against top contenders Marcus Hicks and Donald Cerrone, albeit the fight with “Cowboy” was mired in controversy when in the final round, Varner caught an illegal knee to the eye and claimed he was unable to continue.

After his fight with Cerrone, Varner was on the mend due to multiple injuries for one year and returned to action when he faced top contender and then interim champ Ben Henderson. The two fought in order to unify the titles, and Henderson reigned victorious, submitting Varner in the third round in January of this year.

The loss snapped a five-fight win streak. Jamie has gone 0-3-1 in his past four bouts, drawing with Kamal Shalorus, losing a decision in a rematch with Cerrone, and finally at WEC 53 (the last ever WEC event) Varner was submitted by Shane Roller inside of the first round. An overzealous “C-4″ could not capitalize on an early opportunity when he knocked down Roller in the opening moments of the fight. He was next taken down and back-mounted quickly which prompted the rear-naked choke finish.

Of the Arizonan’s five losses, three of them come by way submission.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the news? Do you think Varner should get cut, or do his accolades in the WEC keep him under contract? Sound off in the comment section below.