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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.
| Paul Varelans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 17, 1969 Sunnyvale, California, U.S. |
| Died | January 16, 2021 (aged 51) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Other names | The Polar Bear |
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Weight | 300 lb (140 kg; 21 st) |
| Style | Trapfighting, Boxing, Wrestling, Judo, Taekwondo |
| Fighting out of | Fairbanks, Alaska |
| Years active | 1995–1998 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 18 |
| Wins | 9 |
| By knockout | 6 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 9 |
| By knockout | 7 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Background
editVarelans 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.[1]
Career
editVarelans 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.[2] 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".[3] Subsequently, Varelans allegedly became irrational and destroyed the locker room.[4] 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
editIn 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.[5] He died in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 16, 2021, aged 51.[6][7]
Championships and accomplishments
edit- International Fighting Championship
- IFC Kombat in Kyiv tournament semifinalist
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- World Vale Tudo Championship
- WVC 5 tournament semifinalist
Mixed martial arts record
edit| 18 matches | 9 wins | 9 losses |
| By knockout | 6 | 7 |
| By submission | 2 | 1 |
| By decision | 1 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 9–9 | Dick Vrij | KO (punch) | Rings Holland: The King of Rings | February 8, 1998 | 2 | 0:30 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| Loss | 8–9 | Nick Nutter | TKO (cut) | World Vale Tudo Championship 5 | February 3, 1998 | 1 | 3:42 | Recife, Brazil | WVC 5 semi-finals. |
| Win | 8–8 | Waldir dos Anjos | TKO (submission to punches) | 1 | 2:36 | WVC 5 quarter-finals. | |||
| Loss | 7–8 | Carlos Barreto | TKO (elbows and punches) | Brazil Open '97 | June 15, 1997 | 1 | 2:33 | Brazil | |
| Win | 7–7 | Scott Taylor | Submission (forearm choke) | Extreme Challenge 6 | May 10, 1997 | 1 | 0:42 | Battle Creek, Michigan, United States | |
| Loss | 6–7 | Ryushi Yanagisawa | Decision (lost points) | Pancrase: Alive 4 | April 27, 1997 | 1 | 15:00 | Urayasu, Chiba, Japan | |
| Loss | 6–6 | Mark Kerr | TKO (knees and punches) | World Vale Tudo Championship 3 | January 19, 1997 | 1 | 2:06 | São Paulo, Brazil | WVC 3 quarter-finals. |
| Loss | 6–5 | Kimo Leopoldo | TKO (corner stoppage) | Ultimate Ultimate 1996 | December 7, 1996 | 1 | 9:08 | Birmingham, Alabama, United States | Ultimate Ultimate 96 quarter-finals. |
| Win | 6–4 | Shinji Katase | TKO (submission to punches) | U-Japan | November 17, 1996 | 1 | 0:35 | Japan | |
| Loss | 5–4 | Igor Vovchanchyn | KO (punches) | IFC 1: Kombat in Kyiv | March 30, 1996 | 1 | 6:20 | Kyiv, Ukraine | IFC 1 semi-finals. |
| Win | 5–3 | Valery Nikkolin | TKO (corner stoppage) | 1 | 5:12 | IFC 1 quarter-finals. | |||
| Win | 4–3 | Joe Moreira | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 8 | February 16, 1996 | 1 | 10:00 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | UFC 8 quarter-finals. |
| Loss | 3–3 | Dan Severn | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Ultimate Ultimate 1995 | December 16, 1995 | 1 | 1:01 | Denver, Colorado, United States | Ultimate Ultimate 1995 quarter-finals. |
| Loss | 3–2 | Marco Ruas | TKO (leg kicks and punches) | UFC 7 | September 8, 1995 | 1 | 13:17 | Buffalo, New York, United States | UFC 7 final. |
| Win | 3–1 | Mark Hall | Submission (americana) | 1 | 1:04 | UFC 7 semi-finals. | |||
| Win | 2–1 | Gerry Harris | TKO (submission to elbows) | 1 | 1:07 | UFC 7 quarter-finals. | |||
| Loss | 1–1 | Tank Abbott | TKO (punches) | UFC 6 | July 14, 1995 | 1 | 1:53 | Casper, Wyoming, United States | UFC 6 semi-finals. |
| Win | 1–0 | Cal Worsham | KO (elbow) | 1 | 1:02 | UFC 6 quarter-finals. |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Paul Varelans Fight News - MMA Fighting". www.mmafighting.com.
- ^ Williams, Scott E. (2006). Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized story of ECW. Champaign, IL: Sports Pub. pp. x, 246. ISBN 978-1-59670-225-7. ISBN 978-1-59670-225-7 (soft cover), ISBN 1-59670-021-1 (hardcover)
- ^ "Owow". Archived from the original on August 31, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
- ^ "Paul "The Polar Bear" Varelans - Page 3 - Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Forums". www.sherdog.net. Archived from the original on September 20, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
- ^ Pettry, Jay (December 18, 2020). "UFC Pioneer Paul Varelans Placed on Ventilator Due to COVID-19". sherdog.com.
- ^ DNA, MMA (January 17, 2021). "UFC pionier Paul "The Polar Bear" Varelans (51) overleden". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ Doyle, Dave (January 16, 2021). "UFC pioneer, early fan favorite Paul Varelans dies after battle with COVID-19". MMA Junkie. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
External links
edit- Professional MMA record for Paul Varelans from Sherdog
- Paul Varelans at UFC
- "Paul Varelans (Profile at K-1 PRIDE UFC Fansite)". K-1.azplayers.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- Profile at FC Fighter
