It’s personal for Jamie Varner and Drew Fickett at ‘High Stakes’ Jamie Varner will enter the Knoxville Civic Auditorium-Coliseum with bad intentions on his mind when he faces Drew Fickett in the main event of XFC 16:’High Stakes’ live on HDNet Feb. 10th. Both men share a mutual dislike for each other. With over 80 combined pro fights their paths have crossed over the years but the two men have never met in the cage. At ‘High Stakes’ XFC President John Prisco intends on changing that.
“It’s really not a secret that Jamie Varner and Drew Fickett don’t like each other,” explained Prisco. “As I was looking at opponents for Jamie I remember hearing some stuff about a beef between him and Drew. And when I asked both of them about a potential fight in Knoxville, each of them said yes without any hesitation.”
Varner is a former WEC champ whose wars with Donald Cerrone in the promotion are legendary to hardcore MMA fans. After a tough loss in September to a last minute replacement ‘C4’ considering retiring only to step back in the cage once more at
XFC 14 in October. That night in Tampa Varner returned to form and knocked out Nate Jolly in 69 seconds.
“Jamie looked amazing in Orlando,” recalled Prisco. “He rolled right through Nate Jolly. Nate’s been around a long time and he’s never been knocked out. Jamie ran through him in just over a minute. I believe Varner is rejuvenated and he’s told me that he has found that love of fighting that he was missing earlier this year. I’m excited to have an energized Jamie Varner in the main event. When Jamie comes to fight he’s going to hurt somebody.”
When you look at Drew Fickett’s record his wins are a who’s who of MMA. Fickett has defeated guys like Josh Koscheck, Kenny Florian, Carlo Prater, and Dennis Hallman. Last September ‘The Master’ not only defeated three men in one night to win the Shine Lightweight Grand Prix, he finished each of them in the first round. Defeating three men in one night in the first round is no small feat, but when you look at the three men he defeated it gets even more impressive. In his first fight Fickett submitted ‘Krazy Horse’ Charles Bennett by guillotine. In his second fight Fickett tapped out future Ultimate Fighter Finalist Dennis Bermudez. And in his third and final fight of the night he submitted Carlo Prater in just over two minutes.
“You can’t look past Drew Fickett,” said Prisco. “Drew is the only guy that’s ever submitted Josh Koscheck. In addition to Koscheck he also beat Kenny Florian. Not to mention the three guys last September in the Grand Prix. If Drew gets your back he’ll put you to sleep. If he gets your arm, you are tapping or he’s taking it home. Fickett vs. Varner is a fight I was actually surprised hadn’t happened yet. With their storied careers and bad blood this fight has to happen and I’m proud to have it as our main event in Knoxville.”
XFC 16 : High Stakes is sponsored by Sheets Energy Strips and Overthrow Gear and will air live on HDnet from the Knoxville Civic Auditorium-Coliseum in Knoxville, TN February 10th, 2012. Tickets are on sale now through KnoxvilleTickets.com. To learn more about the XFC, please visit www.officialxfc.com, “Like” them on Facebook, and “follow” the promotion on Twitter (@officialxfc).
