Gabriel Varga is planning on ringing in 2015 with another victory.
The Victoria kickboxer will head to China, along with his brother Aaron, on Boxing Day for a New Year’s Day battle on a K-1 card at the Golden Eagle Culture City in Changsha, capital of Hunan province.
Varga, 29, was originally to fight for the Glory featherweight title on Dec. 19, but had that postponed until February or March of 2015, so he gladly took on a K-1 fight with the blessing of the Glory organization.
His matchup against Korea’s Kim Dong-su will be part of a card featured in a broadcast that could reach more than 250 million people in China, a land that is hungry for martial arts.
“It’s big sport out there,” said Varga. “They’re into their sanshou, martial arts and kickboxing, so this is a big breakthrough for K-1.”
His last bout — as part of a Spike TV broadcast, in which he won his two fights as part of the Glory 17 production at the Los Angeles Forum in June — had an average viewing audience of 500,000. This upcoming bout could have four to five times that audience.
“I’m feeling good about it. I’m fighting a Korean and it’s always exciting to fight different nationalities with different styles,” said Varga, who wasn’t concerned about taking on the fight after the other was postponed.
“I found out about two or three weeks ago, so by fight time I’ll have had about five weeks to prepare, so that’s not a problem at all. It’s great going back to fight for K-1 one more time and it’ll help get the ring rust off,” added Varga, who had his chance to shine for the company in 2012.
He will then wait for word on his title opportunity with Glory.
“That’s going to be exciting to find out where that fight will be. It could be anywhere. I’m hearing rumours that they’re trying to move about the globe,” said Varga, who has previously fought in China and knows the grind of travel.
“It will be hectic. I’m going to Vancouver, on to San Francisco and then China. The last time I did it, it took about 25 to 30 hours,” said Varga, who at least will have a handful of days to acclimatize, while going through press conferences and media workouts.
Varga, who was born in Toronto but has lived in Victoria since his early elementary years, started ring fighting in 2006 and, prior to that, competed in karate from the age of seven. He is coming off his big wins in L.A. in June and knows what to expect.
“That was perfect,” he said of the Glory 17 card.
“I mean, you always look back and think, ‘Well, I could have done this or I could have done that.’ But aside from little adjustments, it was good. I got the tournament win and a title shot and that’s what I wanted,” said Varga, who also collected a $10,000 bonus for his performance.
“This title fight isn’t so much about money, it will open up opportunities for bigger things,” he suggested of future pursuits, hinting at boxing or MMA possibilities.
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