Issue 150

January 2017

Alias: The Polar Bear,

From: Fairbanks, Alaska,

First seen: July 1995 (UFC 6),

Last seen: February 1998 (Rings Holland: The King of Rings),

Record: 9-9.

Standing at six-foot-eight, weighing 300lb with a background in college football at San Jose State University, Paul Varelans was a huge, athletic and intimidating force throughout his near decade-long no holds barred and MMA career.

‘The Polar Bear’s official debut was at UFC 6 in Casper, Wyoming. Billed as an undefeated bare-knuckle fighter, his discipline was officially listed as trapfighting. His defining moment came in his first bout against taekwondo fighter and former marine Cal Worsham.

“In all of my fights, I never hit anybody until I was hit first. Which is ridiculous in a professional fight, but that’s just how I was raised. With Cal, he hit me over and over and I was like, ‘Wait a second. I can hit back.’ So I dropped the elbow on him.

“If you watch closely, it was a body blow. I didn’t hit him in the head. I hit him in the shoulder. You know he was out because his hands dropped and he went down face first. It was a clean knockout. I was so excited – he was a badass.”

What Varelans did next made him infamous and a must-see for early UFC fans. “I was so excited. The poor cameraman leans in, I see him, and for some reason, the polar bear in me attacks the camera.

"I flew across the cage I hit the camera, it goes flying and everyone asked if it was done on purpose. It was real.

"I felt bad afterward but I was in a zone. They used that shot in the highlight reel for years.”

Varelans finished his career with a 9-9 record. His last fight was in 1998. Wins over Mark Hall and Joe Moreira as well as memorable scraps with ‘Tank’ Abbott, Marco Ruas, Dan Severn, Igor Vovchanchyn and Kimo Leopoldo meant he was a popular member of mixed martial arts’ pioneers.

“I did five UFCs in a row, I fought all over the world,” Varelans recalls. “I developed into a knowledgeable fighter. I dropped down to 290lb to fight. It was the most in-shape I’ve ever been.”

But Senator John McCain’s one-man mission to get ‘human cockfighting’ banned made life difficult for the sport – and Varelans. Most involved in the game were given a lifeline when the Unified Rules of MMA were ratified in 2000, but not this giant of a man.

New Regulations restricted heavyweights to a 265lb weight limit, which was impossible for him to make.

“I would have to cut my leg off to make 265,” he says. “It was the chance to get back to what I loved and then it was gone again. I went into a pretty deep depression and I just ducked out. I was p**sed off. I started this thing and now they were doing it without me.”

Varelans disappeared from the MMA landscape for more than a decade, but resurfaced a couple of years ago and found that despite his curtailed career, he still had a fanbase.

“I got involved with the Legends of the Cage tour. They’re great individuals that are helping people help others. We find purpose. Ducking out for as long as I did, I actually created a market and demand for my autograph and appearances.

"There just weren’t any out there. I am finding there is a life after MMA.”

STRUCK OUT

Varelans was the first fighter to lose a UFC final via TKO, when Marco Ruas cut him down with leg kicks at UFC 7.