American martial artist
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 fixed match in Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1996.
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Background[edit]
Varelans attended West Valley High School in Fairbanks, Alaska, and San Jose State University, where he played football and participated in the boxing club until 1991.[1]
Varelans made his UFC debut on July 14, 1995, at Ultimate Fighting Championship 6: Clash of the Titans, losing by TKO to Tank Abbott in under two minutes.
On June 22, 1996, at ECW’s Hardcore Heaven event, a “shoot fight” was promoted between Varelans and ECW star Taz. Although the event was promoted as a legitimate fight, Varelans agreed beforehand to lose via submission.[2] He preceded this with two house show matches, defeating Jason Helton.
On July 29, 1997, he went to Japan for an one night appearance for Kingdom, losing a worked fight to Yoji Anjo by knockout.
Personal life and death[edit]
In December 2020, news surfaced that Varelans contracted COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia (U.S. state), was placed on mechanical ventilation then into an induced coma.[3] He died on January 16, 2021, at the age of 51.[4][5]
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]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
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^ 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)
^ Jay Pettry (December 18, 2020). “UFC Pioneer Paul Varelans Placed on Ventilator Due to COVID-19”. sherdog.com.
^ DNA, MMA (2021-01-17). “UFC pionier Paul “The Polar Bear” Varelans (51) overleden”. MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-01-17.
^ Doyle, Dave (2021-01-16). “UFC pioneer, early fan favorite Paul Varelans dies after battle with COVID-19”. MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
External links[edit]
Retrieved from “https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_Varelans&oldid=1002401954“
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Varelans