Paul Varelans

Paul Varelans (September 17, 1969 – January 16, 2021) was an American professional mixed martial artist. He competed in Ultimate Fighting Championship from 1995 to 1996, and had a worked match in Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1996.

Background
Varelans attended West Valley High School in Fairbanks, Alaska, where he participated in football and wrestling. Varelans was a walk-on athlete at San Jose State University, and he trained in a little bit of taekwondo, judo and boxing 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 event, Paul Varelans faced and was choked out by ECW star Taz, 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 claims that Varelans agreed to lose if she performed fellatio 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 by knockout.

Personal life and death
In December 2020, news surfaced that Varelans contracted COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia, and as a result, was placed on mechanical ventilation and then put into a medically induced coma. He died in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 16, 2021, aged 51.

Championships and accomplishments

 * International Fighting Championship
 * IFC Kombat in Kyiv tournament semifinalist
 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * UFC 7 tournament finalist
 * UFC 6 tournament semifinalist
 * UFC 8 tournament semifinalist
 * World Vale Tudo Championship
 * WVC 5 tournament semifinalist