Varner, Shalorus fight to WEC draw

After 15 grueling minutes, World Extreme Cagefighting lightweights Jamie Varner and Kamal Shalorus each left the cage battered and broken.

Neither left with a win.

Varner and Shalorus fought to a draw in the main event of WEC 49 on Sunday at Edmonton, Alberta.

Both fighters appeared to break their right hands during a wild second round and Varner took three separate low blows on inside kicks during the bout.

Shalorus was docked a point for the second infraction in the second round, but referee Josh Rosenthal chose not to deduct another point when it happened again in the third round.

A deduction would have turned the draw into a split-decision victory for Varner. The former lightweight champion felt he should have won regardless.

“I think that was bogus. I definitely feel I won this fight,” he said.

Each fighter won 29-27 on one scorecard, while the third judge scored the fight 28-28. Shalorus said the low blows were not intentional.

“I swear I’m not like that. I’m a warrior. I don’t cheat. It was an accident,” he said.

In a back-and-forth bout in which each fighter appeared on the verge of knocking out the other, Mark Hominick finally finished off Yves Jabouin midway through the second round.

Josh Grispi won his eighth straight fight in the first round as he returned from a one-year layoff to submit L.C. Davis in 2:33.

Also, Chris Horodecki and Eddie Wineland picked up victories.