Jamie Varner Seeking Rematch, Redemption Against Joe Lauzon

Joe Lauzon transitioning to a triangle choke on Jamie Varner at UFC On Fox 5

Varner wants rematch with Lauzon

Coming off his big win over Melvin Guillard at UFC 155, Jamie Varner is looking to start off 2013 with a theme: Redemption.

Varner spoke with Sherdog Radio Network's "Cheap Seats" about who he would like to fight next:

“I want to start my retribution tour. I want to start fighting the guys that I’ve lost to. First would definitely be Joe Lauzon. I’d really like to fight Joe again.”

The former WEC lightweight champion and Lauzon first met at UFC on Fox 4, in what many call one of the top fights of 2012. Varner, who was a last minute replacement for Terry Etim, battled with "J-Lau" in a back and forth affair until the third round when he got caught in a triangle choke. The bout earned them Fight of the Night honors.

“I’m not going to take anything away from Joe,” Varner said. “Joe’s awesome and he had an amazing game plan for me. The fact that he broke me down so technically, to the littlest move, like my head position on my double leg, and was able to capitalize on it, that’s incredible. It speaks volumes about him as a fighter and as a technician. I definitely feel that if we were to fight again and I had a full training camp, I would win that fight. I think it would be different.”

Varner also made it clear that while he has his sights on "Cowboy" Donald Cerrone sometime in the future, a man who he fought twice (1-1), he sees Lauzon as his top choice to redeem himself.

“I have to earn that fight with Donald, but I think with Lauzon, that would be a fight that I could arguably fight right away,” Varner said. “It could be my next fight.”

While a fight with Lauzon would have no objections from many fight fans, as it was so competitive the first go-around, Varner should also be looking to to vault himself into title contention. Seeing as how Lauzon is coming off a loss to Jim Miller at UFC 155, a fight with the surging Rafael dos Anjos could be another exciting fight for Varner, and one that should put the him "in the mix."

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