Jamie Varner (21-11-1-2) pensionerade sig vid 30-års ålder och det var på grund av att hn var orolig för huvudskador och nu förklarar Varner varför.
Varner menar att det var sparringen mot större killar som orskade mest huvudskador.
”My career got cut short because I was sparring three days a week, with bigger opponents,” sa Varner. ”I had Ryan Bader, Aaron Simpson, Carlos Condit. Those were my sparring partners from like 2006 to 2010. So I had a lot of head trauma just sparring with those big guys.”
Varner ger råd till unga fighters att bara sparras en gång i veckan.
”If I could give any advice to young, upcoming fighters – you’re a fighter, you don’t need to spar to prove how tough you are. So spar once a week.”
”Sparring is a tool that is used to work on game plans, and to see where you are condition wise, cardiovascularly. You don’t need to spar three days a week to prove you’re tough. You’re fighting in the UFC, you’re obviously tough … That’s ultimately what cut my career short.
Varner är ändå nöjd över sin MMA-karriär.
”But you know what? I had an awesome career. I won big fights. I won a world title. I am happy with what I accomplished.”
Varner menar att huvudskydd bara skyddar mot cuts och att man bara ska sparras en gång i veckan även om man har huvudskydd på sig.
”The headgear protects you from getting cut, but it’s still blunt force trauma man. I wore headgear pretty much my whole career. I’ve been knocked out once – in 35 fights I’ve been knocked out one time. But all the trauma I’ve had sparring wise, I had headgear. You can still get a concussion and not get knocked out. So headgear or no headgear, you should spar once a week.”
”You should definitely wear the headgear, it will protect your brain just a little extra. Wear the 16 oz gloves; you don’t need to spar with little MMA gloves. And I think that will help prolong people’s fighting careers.”
”The purpose of a fight is to give your opponent a concussion. That’s the purpose of a fight. That’s never going to change. Sparring once a week, maybe once every other week, and only sparring to prepare for a fight. You don’t need to spar in off season. You don’t need to spar 12 weeks out from a fight. Spar maybe four to six weeks out from a fight.”
Varner tycker att man inte behöver sparras så ofta för att bli en bättre fighter, det finns andra saker man kan göra med sin träning.
”If they want to get more conditioning, go run, go grapple, go wrestle, hit the bag. You don’t need to get hit in the head to become a better fighter.”
Varner har andra saker på gång och delar med sig av sina framtida planer.
”I’m going to be working with the UFC in an athlete development advisory role. I’m going to be helping young fighters with budgeting their money, preparing for their future, and how to handle social media and press. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my career, and I want to help other fighters from going through the same roller coaster ride that I did.”
”There is a life after fighting. You have to prepare for it.”
