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

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

from 1995 to 1996, and had a worked match in

Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

in 1996.

Background

Varelans attended West Valley High School in

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

, and

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

, where he played football and participated in the boxing club until 1991.

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, Paul Varelans faced and was choked out by ECW star

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, 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, and occasional professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with World Champ ...

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 involving a person stimulating the penis of another person by using the mouth, throat, or both. Oral stimulation of the scrotum may ...

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 Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, losing a worked fight to

Yoji Anjo (born March 28, 1967) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Professional wrestling career Universal Wrestling Federation and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1985–1988) A former practitioner of judo, sumo and muay th ...

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 a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

during the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia (U.S. state), was placed on

mechanical ventilation Mechanical ventilation, assisted ventilation or intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV), is the medical term for using a machine called a ventilator to fully or partially provide artificial ventilation. Mechanical ventilation helps move air ...

and then into an

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 ...

. He died in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 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 *World Vale Tudo Championship **WVC 5 tournament semifinalist

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 9–9 ,

Dick Vrij Dick Vrij is a retired Dutch professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1995 until 2003, he competed in the Heavyweight division for RINGS and It's Showtime. Professional wrestling career A former bodybuilde ...

, KO (punch) , Rings Holland: The King of Rings , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:30 ,

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

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, Brazil , WVC 3 quarter-finals. , - , Loss , align=center, 6–5 ,

Kimo Leopoldo Kimo Leopoldo (born January 4, 1968), or simply Kimo, is an American retired mixed martial artist and actor. He made his MMA debut at ''UFC 3'' in 1994 losing to Royce Gracie by submission. A professional from 1994 until 2011, he also competed in ...

, TKO (corner stoppage) ,

Ultimate Ultimate 1996 ''UFC: The Ultimate Ultimate 2'' (also known as ''Ultimate Ultimate 1996'' or ''UFC 11.5'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 7, 1996. The event took place at the Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, A ...

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Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, 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 (, uk, Ігор Ярославович Вовчанчин; born August 6, 1973) is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer, who competed in early no holds barred MMA contests. After making his profess ...

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Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

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Joe Moreira Jose Carlos Moreira (born July 3, 1961 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and a former mixed martial artist.UFC 8 ''UFC 8: David vs. Goliath'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 16, 1996, at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. It is the only UFC event held in Puerto Rico and was ...

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

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) ,

Ultimate Ultimate 1995 ''UFC: The Ultimate Ultimate'' (also known as ''Ultimate Ultimate 1995'' or ''UFC 7.5'') was an event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 16, 1995, at the Mammoth Gardens in Denver, Colorado. The event was seen live on pay per ...

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Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

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

Marco Ruas Marco Antônio de Lima Ruas (; born 23 January 1961) is a Brazilian former mixed martial arts fighter, Submission Wrestler, Kickboxer and instructor. Ruas was the UFC 7 Tournament Champion, and also competed for the World Vale Tudo Champions ...

, TKO (leg kicks and punches) , rowspan=3,

UFC 7 ''UFC 7: The Brawl in Buffalo'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 8, 1995, at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and l ...

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, 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 David Lee "Tank" Abbott (born April 26, 1965) is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter, professional wrestler, and author. He currently hosts his own podcast series titled "The Proving Ground with Tank Abbott." Abbott is perhaps best kno ...

, TKO (punches) , rowspan=2,

UFC 6 ''UFC 6: Clash of the Titans'' was the sixth mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 14, 1995, at the Casper Events Center in Casper, Wyoming. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and l ...

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Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nic ...

, 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 Sportspeople from Sunnyvale, California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters