There are a handful of fights in my career that really stand out, and my battle with Jamie Varner on August 4, 2012 is way up there.
We both earned Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night, which meant a double bonus. That almost never happens, and it only does when both guys bring the fire. Jamie brought it. I brought it. And honestly, the fight played out almost exactly how we wanted it to—right down to the finish.
The Game Plan: Break His Hands
This probably sounds dumb on paper, but we had a very specific (and weird) strategy going into this one: we wanted to break his hands.
Jamie Varner had a history of hand injuries from his WEC days. We knew that. So the idea was simple:
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Keep constant forward pressure
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Chin tucked, head forward
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Make him land on the hardest part of my skull—the top
The top of the head is the worst place to punch if you’re throwing heat. Guys break hands on that all the time. So I just kept walking him down. I knew he was gonna swing, and I didn’t mind taking a glancing shot if it meant putting wear and tear on his weapons.
Handling His Wrestling
Jamie’s known for that big blast double-leg. So we drilled a lot of situations off his takedown attempts—specifically working double overhooks and sweeping. We didn’t necessarily expect to submit him off our back, but I’ve always had a good triangle, and when it opened up, I didn’t hesitate.
Funny part? I don’t think the triangle alone would’ve finished him. He started to posture out, and I knew I had to force him to stay in. So I just started dropping elbows on his head. That made him drive back in to defend, which is exactly what I wanted—and the choke got tighter until he tapped.
Sometimes it’s not about Plan A or B—it’s about adapting in the moment.
The Fight Itself
That whole fight was a brawl. He dropped me. I scrambled. We traded. There were moments where it could have gone either way, and that’s why fans still talk about it today. I love fights like that—ones where skill, toughness, and heart all get tested at the same time.
If you want to see the full behind-the-scenes lead-up and fight week, we documented a lot of it:
Here is the finish and the Gracie Breakdown on it.
Lessons That Still Apply Today
That fight taught me a lot—about strategy, about mindset, and about digging deep. These are the same ideas we use every day at Lauzon MMA: forward pressure, smart game planning, and adapting under fire.
If you or your kid want to train somewhere that teaches more than just kicks and punches—where we train real mindset, grit, and confidence—this is the place.
Stop by the gym, schedule a class, and if you’ve trained with us and loved it, please leave us a Google review so more people can find the Lauzon MMA crew.