Jamie Varner defeated Edson Barboza via TKO at 3:23 of the first round

Jamie Varner made his UFC return a memorable one tonight at UFC 146 with a TKO stoppage of Edson Barboza in the first round. Barboza landed a bunch of kicks early, but Varner's straight right was on point and it was the difference in the fight. After staggering Barboza with the right, he continued the barrage all over the cage until Barboza went down again. Varner smashed him with shots until referee Steve Mazzagatti finally stepped in at the 3:23 mark.

Barboza landed a few kicks early and they looked pretty heavy. Barboza went for a head kick but Varner caught it and took it to the mat. Varner landed a few shots in half guard but Barboza bucked him off and got to his feet. Barboza went back to the leg kicks while the crowd chanted his name. Varner landed two straight rights and a nice body/head combination.Varner staggered Barboza with a right hook and followed up with a ton of shots against the cage. Barboza got up and tried to get away, but Varner was all over him and landed another huge right that dropped Edson against the cage. A bunch of hammerfists forced the ref to step in.

Varner is a former WEC lightweight champion but hadn't fought in the UFC since 2007. Barboza entered the bout undefeated and was one of the lightweight division's brightest prospects.

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