Photo via Karate.com
Gabriel Varga on Karate Combat debut and Pursuit of Gold
Gabriel Varga bested Bruno Assis via unanimous decision at Karate Combat season four, episode four on June 25th, 2022.
Varga returned to Bowks Talking Bouts and discussed this promotional debut and his road to Karate Combat gold. Excerpts from our chat are below.
Gabriel Varga
How many subsequent fights there might be on the road toward Karate Combat gold
“I think two. I think two is what we’re going to be looking at. Karate Combat as you said, they looked at everything I’d achieved in kickboxing. Basically, just asked me, do you want to go right into a title shot or what do you want? I said I think the two is important. Just because it’s a completely different dynamic being in the pit. The ruleset is slightly different, different gloves. So just adjustments that need to be made. Before I have that confidence and comfort level where I would actually want to go for the title.”
Getting back to his martial arts roots as a Shotokan karate fourth-degree black belt
“I’ve not really considered myself a karate practitioner over the last decade. Just because I fell in love with kickboxing. Just put my whole heart into becoming the best I could in that one discipline. But before that for a couple of decades, I always thought of myself as a karate practitioner solely. So being able to go back to that but like you said, not having to, I didn’t want to say, almost water it down with point fighting style stuff. It was really nice to be able to do that. The guys at Karate Combat I think are also looking to adjust rules as they progress.”
“Good fight sports or any sports have to do that. They have to make adjustments to what the audience wants. I think we’ll see a little less of the point fighting sort of karate thing. Like right now it’s focused mostly above the belt. There’s a few calf kicks but we might see it open up a little bit more. Some of it’s going to be more inclusive for the other karate practitioners like Kyokushin and Yoshukai. Will be able to come in and bring those guys in to the promotion as well.”
Karate Combat
Parting thoughts for Gabriel Varga
“I just want to tell everybody out there….There’s a lot of fighters out there who are always looking for promotions to sign with. I’ve been with a decent number of promotions. Sometimes they treat you really well and sometimes they treat you quite mediocre-like. People should be on the lookout if they have any Karate experience. They’re not just taking guys who are solely Karate practitioners. They’re just looking for people who have some experience in Karate.”
“If you’re looking for a promotion new and upcoming that’s going to treat you well, it looks like these guys are the place. I left with really no massive complaints. Which is odd for me after a full week of working with a promotion… These guys were top-level. So if people are looking they can head over to their website and apply there. I think it’s a pretty unique opportunity and a unique promotion to grow with.”
