WEC May Look to Establish Interim Belt

Current WEC champ Varner will not defend his title due to a severely broken hand.

WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner (16-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) will almost certainly be out for a little longer than initially expected with a broken hand, which he recieved during his controversial, but successful, title defense against Donald Cerrone (10-1-0-1 MMA). With Varner out and the controversy surrounding his fight with Cerrone, the Cowboy is almost certainly staring down a potential shot at the interim title.

Since losing in his title shot against Varner, Cerrone has returned to the cage, defeating James Krause (10-1 MMA) by rear naked choke in the first round. Cerrone was expected to get another shot at Varner as soon as the champion’s hand had recovered, so it only makes sense that he would be considered for the interim title fight, as the interim fight would set the stage for a later undisputed title shot when Varner returns.

Cerrone tested positive for banned substances in an early bout with Kenneth Alexander (5-4 MMA), his only no contest in his career, but since Alexander is now no longer fighting with the WEC (and has two recent losses, which shoot his credibility all to hell) that’s not very likely. More likely, on the list of potential opponents, is Rob McCullough (17-5 MMA), who is the only opponent Cerrone hasn’t finished, and would certainly make for another interesting fight. Their first bout won fight of the night at WEC 38, and a rematch would promise similar excitement.