James Varner (born October 12, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist who fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Varner attended Deer Valley High School where he competed in wrestling.

His final appearance was against formerly undefeated Jason Gilliam, which he won via first round submission (rear naked choke).

Varner successfully defended his WEC Lightweight Championship against the previously undefeated Marcus Hicks on August 3, 2008.

Varner was given time to recover, but he was unable to continue, noting that he had double vision and had sustained a broken hand.

[13] In his first post-Zuffa fight, Varner fought Tyler Combs for XFO and won via submission in the first round.

He was also in negotiations for a possible fight against DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki at the end of May 2011,[14] but the bout did not materialize.

Varner headlined Titan Fighting Championships 20 against Dakota Cochrane on September 23, 2011, losing by unanimous decision.

It was announced that Varner would replace Evan Dunham, who suffered an injury, to fight undefeated prospect Edson Barboza on May 26, 2012 at UFC 146.

Varner replaced an injured Terry Etim against Joe Lauzon on August 4, 2012 at UFC on Fox: Shogun vs.

In his post-fight interview inside the octagon, Varner announced his retirement from mixed martial arts competition.

He attended Lock Haven University where he joined the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and spent his time at that school training both as a wrestler and a boxer, where he was NCBA (National Collegiate Boxing Association) Champion for the nationally recognized Lock Haven University boxing team.