[1] Varela faced Ramzik Ghulinyan for the WKL Intercontinental -63 kg title on the May 6, 2017 Mix Fight event.

Varela faced Kaito Ozawa in the tournament quarterfinals and won the fight by a first-round knockout.

Advancing to the tournament semifinals, Varela faced the former RISE Bantamweight champion Yuta Murakoshi.

[5] He won the fight by a first-round knockout, flooring Ashizawa with a left hook near the end of the opening round.

[8] Varela was booked to face Yuki Egawa at K-1 World GP 2019 Yokohamatsuri on November 24, 2019, in the quarterfinal bout of the K-1 featherweight tournament.