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 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.