Andy Varela was born on March 20, 1992, in El Paso, Texas, where his early athletic identity took shape on the basketball court. The competitive discipline he developed there provided a genuine foundation for physical training, but it was the informal combat instruction he received from his father — a mixed martial artist — that first wired him for the fighting mindset. Long before any formal coaching, those sessions planted the seeds of a grappler in the making.

High school marked Varela's first structured introduction to grappling. He joined the wrestling program at J.M. Hanks High School as a junior, though academic eligibility limited his competitive appearances to his sophomore year. Brief as that window was, the wrestling room left a lasting imprint. The core principles he absorbed there — pressure, timing, and positional awareness — would go on to define his grappling identity and set him apart from the typical profile of a 10th Planet practitioner.

Two years after graduating high school, at age 19, Varela walked into an MMA gym and began his formal combat sports education. Roughly a year into that process, he made his amateur MMA debut while simultaneously stepping onto the jiu-jitsu mats for the first time. The parallel development of both disciplines accelerated his growth and shaped him into a well-rounded martial artist from the ground up.

His MMA trajectory showed consistent upward momentum. He claimed the KOTC (King of the Cage) title at 22 and transitioned to professional competition at 23, establishing himself as a credible prospect in both the striking and grappling arenas.

On the jiu-jitsu side, Varela began his journey in El Paso under Cristobal Davila at 10th Planet El Paso, where he built the technical groundwork of his ground game. He progressed through the ranks — white to brown belt — under Victor Davila, a prominent figure within the 10th Planet family. After relocating to Las Vegas, Varela joined the city's 10th Planet affiliate under coach Casey Halstead, who promoted him to black belt on November 24, 2019.

Earning a black belt through the 10th Planet system might suggest a strict rubber guard and leg lock-centric approach, but Varela's competitive identity tells a different story. He built his game through deliberate cross-training and wide-ranging study rather than adherence to any single methodology — a philosophy that has become his defining characteristic as a grappler.

Varela has described his development in his own words: "My style comes from watching a lot of different guys in the sport. Although I came up white to black under 10P, since I wrestled I always studied other players online that best fit my style or liking, athletes like Marcelo Garcia, Rafa Mendes, GSP, Jordan Burroughs, etc. I traveled to compete and trained often at other gyms so it was easy to soak up different information from every style."

The result is a game that draws from wrestling, sport jiu-jitsu, and MMA-influenced grappling in equal measure. His wrestling foundation, in particular, powers his guard passing and positional pressure — giving him a base that complements the 10th Planet curriculum without being confined by it. Where many 10P practitioners lead with the rubber guard, Varela leads with weight, angles, and top control.

Building a Profile on Submission Underground

Varela first earned wider attention in the submission grappling community through his performances at Submission Underground (SUG), the no-gi promotion founded by former UFC middleweight champion Chael Sonnen. Those appearances introduced him to a broader audience and signaled that he was developing into a serious competitor at the elite level.

The 2022 ADCC West Coast Trials Breakthrough

The defining moment of his competitive grappling career came at the 2022 ADCC West Coast Trials, where Varela delivered a standout performance and earned a 2nd place finish in the 170 lbs (77 kg) division. The result validated years of cross-training and demonstrated his capacity to perform under the sport's highest levels of competitive pressure, cementing his reputation as one of the premier grapplers in that weight class.

Competing at the Highest Levels

Varela went on to qualify and compete at ADCC 2024 in the under 80 kg division. Following that appearance, he joined the field at the Craig Jones Invitational in the under 80 kg division, continuing to measure himself against the best grapplers in the world.

In 2025, Varela stepped into a different kind of arena — the policy debate surrounding competitive jiu-jitsu governance. He publicly criticized the UFC's mandatory long-sleeve rashguard policy for BJJ competitions, arguing that the requirement places unnecessary restrictions on athletes without meaningfully addressing the core concern it targets: competitors greasing their skin to gain a frictional advantage.

His outspoken position contributed to a broader conversation within the BJJ community about inconsistent rule enforcement across major organizations and the real-world impact of top-down policy decisions on athlete experience. The stance reinforced his profile not only as a high-level competitor but as a vocal advocate on issues affecting the sport's integrity and the conditions under which athletes are asked to compete.