| Paul Varelans | |
| Other Names: | The Polar Bear |
| Birth Date: | 17 September 1969 |
| Birth Place: | Sunnyvale, California, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Weight: | 300lb |
| Fighting Out Of: | Fairbanks, Alaska |
| Years Active: | 1995–1998 |
| Mma Kowin: | 6 |
| Mma Subwin: | 2 |
| Mma Decwin: | 1 |
| Mma Koloss: | 7 |
| Mma Subloss: | 1 |
| Mma Decloss: | 1 |
| Sherdog: | 112 |
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.
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.[1]
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.[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.
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.[5] He died in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 16, 2021, aged 51.[6] [7]
|-|Win|align=center| 9–9| Dick Vrij| KO (punch)| Rings Holland: The King of Rings| |align=center| 2|align=center| 0:30|Amsterdam, 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, 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, United States||-|Loss|align=center| 6–7| Ryushi Yanagisawa| Decision (lost points)| Pancrase: Alive 4| |align=center| 1|align=center| 15:00|Urayasu, Chiba, 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, 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, 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| KO (punches)| rowspan=2|IFC 1: Kombat in Kyiv| rowspan=2||align=center| 1|align=center| 6:20|rowspan=2|Kyiv, 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|UFC 8 quarter-finals.|-|Loss|align=center| 3–3| Dan Severn| Submission (arm-triangle choke)| Ultimate Ultimate 1995| |align=center| 1|align=center| 1:01|Denver, Colorado, United States|Ultimate Ultimate 1995 quarter-finals.|-|Loss|align=center| 3–2| Marco Ruas| TKO (leg kicks and punches)| rowspan=3|UFC 7| rowspan=3||align=center| 1|align=center| 13:17|rowspan=3|Buffalo, New York, 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, 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.