Varner and Shalorus Draw; Hominick and Grispi Impress
EDMONTON, Alberta – A high-stakes battle between Kamal Shalorus and Jamie Varner, with the winner possibly earning a title shot, took an unfortunate turn Sunday night when their gritty, gut-checking clash was declared a draw.
Although both fighters inflicted their fair share of damage on the other, the difference proved to be a costly point-deduction against Shalorus for an illegal kick to the groin that caused Varner to writhe in pain on the canvass for a prolonged period in the second round. It was one of three potent, dead-on low blows Shalorus would deliver during the wildly entertaining three-rounder, which saw Varner pushed to the brink much like his barn-burning clash with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
The judges scored it 28-28, 29-27 for Shalorus, and 29-27 for Varner.
“I’m pretty sure I broke my right foot and my right hand,” Varner said as he iced his right hand immediately after the decision was announced. “But I’m not going to lie, I think I won the fight.”
Varner would limp out of the Octagon and favor his right leg, using the support of his cornermen as he hopped back to his locker room. In addition to his groin and hand, Varner also appeared to suffer plenty of damage to his left leg, his lead leg, which Shalorus repeatedly hammered with thumping low kicks throughout the affair.
The former WEC champion had started the evening in impressive fashion, outboxing his Iranian-born opponent and drilling him with potent 1-2 combinations, including a right hand that momentarily buckled the iron-chinned Shalorus. Varner also grazed his opponent with head kicks, yet Shalorus never stopped charging forward and as the bout wore on, his wild punches began to find their mark on Varner’s face with increasing frequency. To his credit, despite being dropped twice by low blows, Varner never allowed the referee to halt the contest and gamely fought on. Shalorus, a former Olympic wrestler with a new record of 6-0-2, claimed his low blows were inadvertent.
“I swear I’m not like that,” he said. “I’m warrior, I don’t cheat. It’s just an accident. I was trying to cut down his speed because Varner is fast and has power.”
Jamie Varner, who had equated Benson Henderson’s victory over him to hitting the lottery’, will now probably have to wait to get another crack at the WEC lightweight belt that he relinquished earlier this year.
In other action Sunday night at Rexall Place arena:
Yves Jabouin vs. Mark Hominick
They waited eight years to settle a heated debate, and their all-out war produced an unequivocal truth: Mark Hominick is Canada’s top featherweight. “The Machine,” as he is called, stalked Jabouin throughout the bout and pounded him with head and body shots. The speedy Jabouin countered his countryman with ferocious leg kicks and stinging punching combinations that caused a sizable welt to form under Hominick’s right eye.
Truth be told, the round one that these two fighters waged is one of the finest, most beautiful displays of kickboxing this writer has ever seen. Technical brilliance reigned supreme, and in between the high kicks, rib kicks, jabs and everything else – Jabouin even managed to score with an astounding three spinning backfists AND a spinning elbow for good measure. But in the end, it wasn’t technique that seemed to carry the day, it was grit and determination. Quite simply, Hominick’s relentless stalking, heavy-handedness and the blistering pace he set seemed to take a toll on Jabouin, who began to noticeably slow down in the second round.
A body shot by Hominick was one shot too many; Jabouin fell to the canvas. Hominick followed him there, pouncing with heavy shots on top. Jabouin somehow mustered the strength to get to his feet, and the assault continued. Hominick would pay for his lack of caution; a right hand by a desperate Jabouin put Hominick on the deck. Yet the ground has always been more Hominick’s domain than Jabouin’s. The Shawn Tompkins prot