Paul Varelans (September 17, 1969 – January 16, 2021) was an American professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

from 1995 to 1996, and had a worked match in

Extreme Championship Wrestling Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...

in 1996.

Background

Varelans attended West Valley High School in

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a Municipal home rule, home rule city and the county seat, borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior Alaska, interior region of Alaska and the second la ...

, where he participated in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

. Varelans was a walk-on athlete at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

, and he trained in a little bit of

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

and

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

before starting his career in no holds barred.

Career

Varelans made his UFC debut on July 14, 1995, at '' Ultimate Fighting Championship 6: Clash of the Titans'', winning by KO over Cal Worsham. On June 22, 1996, at ECW's

Hardcore Heaven Hardcore Heaven was a professional wrestling event produced by Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It took place annually from 1994 to 2000, with the exception of 1998. The 1997, 1999 and 2000 iterations aired on pay-per-view. The footag ...

event, Varelans faced, and was choked out by, ECW star

Taz Taz or TAZ may refer to: Geography *Taz (river), a river in western Siberia, Russia *Taz Estuary, the estuary of the river Taz in Russia People * Taz people, an ethnic group in Russia ** Taz language, a form of Northeastern Mandarin spoken by ...

, in what was promoted as a "shoot fight". Although the event was promoted as a legitimate shoot fight, Varelans agreed beforehand to lose via submission. In her 2001 autobiography ''Missy Hyatt, First Lady of Wrestling'',

Missy Hyatt Melissa Ann Hiatt (born October 16, 1963), better known by her ring name, Missy Hyatt, is an American retired professional wrestling valet, commentator, model and occasional professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with Wo ...

claims that Varelans agreed to lose if she performed

fellatio Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act consisting of the stimulation of a human penis, penis by using the mouth. Oral stimulation of the scrotum may also be termed ''fellat ...

on him afterwards, but Hyatt refused saying that she did not "blow jobbers". Subsequently, Varelans allegedly became irrational and destroyed the locker room. He preceded this with two house show matches, defeating Jason Helton. On July 29, 1997, he went to Japan for a one night appearance for Kingdom and lost a worked fight to

Yoji Anjo (born March 28, 1967) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and kickboxer. Anjo is considered to be one of the pioneers of the shoot style movement during the 1980s and early 90s. Professional wrestling career Uni ...

by knockout.

Personal life and death

In December 2020, news surfaced that Varelans contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

during the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia, and as a result, was placed on

mechanical ventilation Mechanical ventilation or assisted ventilation is the Medicine, medical term for using a ventilator, ventilator machine to fully or partially provide artificial ventilation. Mechanical ventilation helps move air into and out of the lungs, wit ...

and then put into a medically

induced coma An induced comaalso known as a medically induced coma (MIC), barbiturate-induced coma, or drug-induced comais a temporary coma (a deep state of unconsciousness) brought on by a controlled dose of an anesthetic drug, often a barbiturate such as pe ...

. He died in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, on January 16, 2021, aged 51.

Championships and accomplishments

*International Fighting Championship **IFC Kombat in Kyiv tournament semifinalist *

** UFC 7 tournament finalist ** UFC 6 tournament semifinalist ** UFC 8 tournament semifinalist ** UFC Encyclopedia Awards *** Fight of the Night (Two times) vs.

Marco Ruas Marco Antônio de Lima Ruas (; born 23 January 1961) is a Brazilian former mixed martial arts fighter, submission wrestling, submission wrestler, kickboxer and instructor. Ruas was the List of UFC champions#Tournament winners, UFC 7 Tournament ...

and

Dan Severn Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Beast", is an American retired professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of ...

*World Vale Tudo Championship **WVC 5 tournament semifinalist

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 9–9 , Dick Vrij , KO (punch) , Rings Holland: The King of Rings , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:30 ,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, Netherlands , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–9 , Nick Nutter , TKO (cut) , rowspan=2, World Vale Tudo Championship 5 , rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:42 , rowspan=2,

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

, Brazil , WVC 5 semi-finals. , - , Win , align=center, 8–8 , Waldir dos Anjos , TKO (submission to punches) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:36 , WVC 5 quarter-finals. , - , Loss , align=center, 7–8 , Carlos Barreto , TKO (elbows and punches) , Brazil Open '97 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:33 , Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 7–7 , Scott Taylor , Submission (forearm choke) , Extreme Challenge 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:42 ,

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–7 , Ryushi Yanagisawa , Decision (lost points) , Pancrase: Alive 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 15:00 ,

Urayasu, Chiba 260px, Old Urayasu is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 170,533 in 81,136 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Urayasu is best known as the home of Tokyo Di ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–6 , Mark Kerr , TKO (knees and punches) , World Vale Tudo Championship 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:06 ,

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil , WVC 3 quarter-finals. , - , Loss , align=center, 6–5 , Kimo Leopoldo , TKO (corner stoppage) , Ultimate Ultimate 1996 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 9:08 ,

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, United States , Ultimate Ultimate 96 quarter-finals. , - , Win , align=center, 6–4 , Shinji Katase , TKO (submission to punches) , U-Japan , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:35 , Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–4 ,

Igor Vovchanchyn Igor Yaroslavovych Vovchanchyn (, ; born August 6, 1973) is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer, who competed in early Mixed martial arts, no holds barred MMA contests. After making his professional MMA debut in 1995, he won nin ...

, KO (punches) , rowspan=2, IFC 1: Kombat in Kyiv , rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:20 , rowspan=2,

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, Ukraine , IFC 1 semi-finals. , - , Win , align=center, 5–3 , Valery Nikkolin , TKO (corner stoppage) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:12 , IFC 1 quarter-finals. , - , Win , align=center, 4–3 , Joe Moreira , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 10:00 ,

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

, UFC 8 quarter-finals. , - , Loss , align=center, 3–3 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Ultimate Ultimate 1995 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:01 ,

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, United States , Ultimate Ultimate 1995 quarter-finals. , - , Loss , align=center, 3–2 ,

, TKO (leg kicks and punches) , rowspan=3, UFC 7 , rowspan=3, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 13:17 , rowspan=3,

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, United States , UFC 7 final. , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Mark Hall , Submission (americana) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 , UFC 7 semi-finals. , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Gerry Harris , TKO (submission to elbows) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:07 , UFC 7 quarter-finals. , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Tank Abbott , TKO (punches) , rowspan=2, UFC 6 , rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:53 , rowspan=2,

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in and the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the List of municipalities in Wyoming, second-most populous city in the state after Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cheyenne, with the population at 59,038 as of th ...

, United States , UFC 6 semi-finals. , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Cal Worsham , KO (elbow) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:02 , UFC 6 quarter-finals.

References

External links

* * * *Profile at FC Fighter {{DEFAULTSORT:Varelans, Paul 1969 births 2021 deaths American male mixed martial artists Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia (U.S. state) Mixed martial artists from California Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Professional wrestlers who competed in MMA San Jose State Spartans boxers Sportspeople from Sunnyvale, California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 20th-century American sportsmen