Youngstown, Ohio hosts WEC 43 on Sept. 2, Jamie Varner won't be stripped of title

http://mmajunkie.com/news/15363/youngstown-ohio-hosts-wec-43-on-sept-2-jamie-varner-wont-be-stripped-of-title.mma

As company executives hinted earlier this year, World Extreme Cagefighting will, in fact, make its Ohio debut in 2009.

WEC General Manager Reed Harris today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that WEC 43 is set for Wednesday, Sept. 2, at the 6,000-seat Covelli Centre in Youngstown.

However, despite recent reports, injured champion Jamie Varner will not be stripped of his WEC lightweight title, and WEC 43 headliners and top contenders Donald Cerrone (10-1) and Benson Henderson (9-1) will instead fight for an interim lightweight belt, Harris said.

A number of reports, citing a Youngstown Vindicator story, stated Varner would be stripped of his belt and that it would then be contested by Cerrone and Henderson. However, Harris said that won't be the case.

Good, he's obviously the best WEC LW fighter. I don't think he should be stripped, unless it's determined he won't be able to come back.

might have to go to that

So at what point does someone like Jamie Varner or Cowboy "graduate" to the UFC...thats why I"m not real keen on them keeping the LW division in WEC...it just doesn't seem very legit when the UFC is obviously going to sign the "best" while Zuffa puts the young ones down in WEC...but should they move on...Cowboy has talked about it...Varner is ready to compete in the big leagues...why not elevate them and tourney out the next belt...and I have posted this before but I think after the flyweights have been added they should drop the LW's or maybe add an organized women's division and then get rid of the LW's...I just think it takes away from the fact that the Featherweights and Bantamweights are truly the best fighters at that weight but then there is the LW division, which certainly has great fighters (I"m a big fan of Cowboy) but is not the elite of the Weight class...