Gabriel Varga

Gabriel Varga (born May 16, 1985) is a Canadian kickboxer who competes in the Featherweight division. A martial artist since his childhood, Varga started out in Shotokan karate and made the switch to kickboxing at seventeen. After becoming a Canadian, North American and two-time world champion during his amateur career, he turned professional in 2009 and won two more world championships in the pro ranks inside the space of seven months during 2011. Varga has since competed in the K-1, Glory, and Bellator Kickboxing promotions and has won 6 professional kickboxing world titles.

Gabriel Varga
Varga in 2016 posing with his various championships.
Born (1985-05-16) May 16, 1985
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight64.9 kg (143 lb; 10.22 st)
DivisionLightweight
Welterweight
Featherweight
Reach73.8 in (187 cm)
StyleKickboxing, Kadgamala Karate, Shotokan Karate
Fighting out ofVictoria, British Columbia, Canada
TeamVarga Bros. Martial Arts
TrainerAaron Varga
Rank4th degree black belt in Shotokan and Kadgamala
Years active2006-present
Kickboxing record
Total24
Wins18
By knockout4
Losses6
By knockout1
Draws0
Mixed martial arts record
Total2
Wins1
By knockout1
Losses1
By decision1
Amateur record
Total15
Wins15
By knockout7
Losses0
Draws0
last updated on: February 3, 2018

Early life

Gabriel Varga was born in Toronto, Ontario and spent part of his childhood in Australia and New Zealand before settling in Victoria, British Columbia in 1999.[1] He was introduced to martial arts at an early age by his father, Keith, a boxer and karateka. Also a classically trained pianist, Varga formally began training in Shotokan at the age of eight and eventually earned the rank of fourth degree black belt. He made the switch to kickboxing and Muay Thai, along with his brothers Aaron and Jacob, at seventeen years old.[2][3]

Kickboxing career

Amateur career

Varga began competing as an amateur in 2006 at the age of twenty and, after amassing an 8-0 record by 2008, spent three months training in Thailand at Eminent Air, Fairtex, Por Pramuk and Sinbi Muay Thai.[4]

Upon his return to Canada, he was given the chance to fight for his first title and he outpointed Carlos Garcia to take the ISKA Amateur North American Light Welterweight (-64.5 kg/142.2 lb) Oriental Championship.[4] He then stopped Chuck Mady with body shots in the first round for the ISKA Amateur Canadian Super Lightweight (-62.3 kg/137.2 lb) Oriental title on August 15, 2008.[5]

Now a national and continental belt holder, Varga faced Joe Concha in an ISKA super lightweight amateur world title match in his hometown of Victoria on January 24, 2009. He scored a knockdown in the fifth and final round and won by decision.[6] He made the first defence of this title against Emil Salva on April 4, 2009 in Langford, British Columbia. After being dropped with a right overhand late in round one, Varga was able to rally back to win by a third round technical knockout that sent the Romanian through the ropes at the end of round three.[7] On June 12, 2009, he made his final title defence with a wide points victory over Matt Embree in Victoria, British Columbia.[8]

Following this, Varga moved back up in weight to challenge for the ISKA amateur light welterweight world title against Devon Henry in Victoria on July 20, 2009. He won by split decision after a back-and-forth fight.[9] In his final bout as an amateur, he took a unanimous decision over Nathan Smandych on October 3, 2009 in Victoria to defend his ISKA light welterweight strap and bring his record to 15-0.[10]

Professional career

Having fought mostly under Oriental rules during his amateur career, Varga ventured into the Muay Thai ruleset after turning professional and spent the early part of his career fighting abroad. In his pro debut on December 12, 2009, he travelled to Flushing, New York, United States and defeated local fighter Omar Ahmed by unanimous decision.[11] He followed this up with another unanimous decision win over Justin Greskiewicz on February 19, 2010[12] before being invited to compete in an eight-man tournament held in New York on July 17, 2010. Despite entering as the tournament favourite, he was eliminated at the quarter-final stage when he lost to Terrence Hill via a controversial unanimous decision.[13] The Varga camp attempted to have the result overturned and filed a complaint with the WKA a week later. Their bid was rejected, however, as it had been submitted too late.[4] A rematch with Greskiewicz was set for December 3, 2010 at The Warriors Cup XIII in Lincroft, New Jersey, US but fell through when Justin was injured in a motorcycle accident.[14][15] He was nominated for the 2010 "North American Fighter of the Year" award by Muay Thai Authority but lost out to Kevin Ross.[16][17]

He returned to the ring on January 8, 2011 at a Canada vs. China event in Jinan, China where he won by unanimous decision under sanshou rules.[4] With this, he earned himself a shot at the World Kickboxing Network (WKN) World Lightweight (-64.4 kg/142 lb) Oriental Championship. Fighting in Victoria for the first time as a professional on March 12, 2011, he heavily utilized knees and sweeps over five rounds to take the unanimous decision and come away with the belt.[18][19] His rematch with Justin Greskiwicz was rescheduled for Battle at Bally's 2 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, US on August 11, 2011 but fell through again.[20] Instead he took a second consecutive title match in which Varga knocked out Roy Tan in the third round to take the World Kickboxing Federation (WKF) World Light Welterweight (-64.5 kg/142 lb) K-1 belt in Vienna, Austria on September 24, 2011.[21][22]

After a year out of the ring, he signed with K-1 and made his promotional debut at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2012 in Los Angeles in California on September 8, 2012 against Lerdsila Chumpairtour.[23] Varga dropped the three-time Rajadamnern Stadium champion with a spinning backfist in the opening round but it was ruled a slip by the referee. Nonetheless, he kept a high tempo and fought aggressively en route to winning by unanimous decision.[24]

He was recruited into Glory's 65 kg/143 lb class in 2013 and was amongst the division's eight elite fighters at the Glory 8: Tokyo - 2013 65kg Slam tournament in Tokyo, Japan on May 3, 2013. He dominated Abdellah Ezbiri en route to a unanimous decision win in the quarter-finals, but lost to the eventual champion Yuta Kubo by the same margin in the semis.[25][26]

Varga was set to face Shane Oblonsky at Glory 11: Chicago - Heavyweight World Championship Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, US on October 12, 2013.[27] However, Oblonsky withdrew due to injury and was replaced by Jose Palacios.[28] Varga defeated Palacios via unanimous decision.[29]

He was then set to make a defence of his WKN title for the first time against Jessy Petit-Jean in Belgium on November 9, 2013[30] but the bout was cancelled for undisclosed reasons.[31]

Varga won the 2014 Glory Featherweight Contendership Tournament at Glory 17: Los Angeles in Inglewood, California, US on June 21, 2014, defeating Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai in the semi-finals and Shane Oblonsky in the final, both via unanimous decision.[32][33]

On April 3, 2015 Varga defeated #1 ranked Mosab Amrani to become the inaugural GLORY Featherweight World Champion. The title fight took place on Glory 20 in Dubai. The decision win was unanimous with the 3 judges scoring 50-46, 48-47, and 49-46.

On July 14, 2018 in Rome, Italy Varga won his 6th professional world title. He defeated Kevin Ross by 1st-round TKO to win the Bellator Kickboxing Featherweight World Title.

Mixed martial arts career

In 2019, Varga made the transition to mixed martial arts competition for Bellator.[34] He made his debut against Jamese Taylor at Bellator 224 on July 12, 2019. He won the fight via TKO in the second round.

Championships and awards

Kickboxing
  • Bellator Kickboxing
    • Bellator Kickboxing Featherweight (-65 kg/143.3 lb) Champion
  • Hero Legends
    • Hero Legends 2016 Featherweight (-65 kg/143.3 lb) Champion
  • Glory
  • International Sport Karate Association
    • ISKA Amateur Canadian Super Lightweight (-62.3 kg/137.2 lb) Oriental Championship
    • ISKA Amateur North American Light Welterweight (-64.5 kg/142.2 lb) Oriental Championship
    • ISKA Amateur World Super Lightweight (-62.3 kg/137.2 lb) Oriental Championship
    • ISKA Amateur World Light Welterweight (-64.5 kg/142.2 lb) Oriental Championship
  • World Kickboxing Association
    • WKA Amateur British Columbia Light Welterweight (-64 kg/141.1 lb) Championship
  • World Kickboxing Federation
    • WKF World Light Welterweight (-64.5 kg/142 lb) K-1 Championship
  • World Kickboxing Network
    • WKN World Lightweight (-64.4 kg/142 lb) Oriental Championship

Kickboxing record
Kickboxing Record
18 Wins (4 (T) KO's, 13 decisions), 6 Losses
DateResultOpponentEventLocationMethodRoundTimeRecord
2019-10-12Win Cristian FaustinoBellator Kickboxing 12Milan, ItalyDecision (Unanimous)53:0018-6
Defends the Bellator Kickboxing Featherweight Championship.
2018-12-01Win Shan CangelosiBellator Kickboxing 11Genoa, ItalyKO (Punch)12:4217-6
Defends the Bellator Kickboxing Featherweight Championship.
2018-07-14Win Kevin RossBellator Kickboxing 10 : RomeRome, ItalyTKO (Ref. Stoppage/Punches)12:0816-6
Wins the Bellator Kickboxing Featherweight Championship.
2018-02-03Loss Tie YinghuaGlory of Heroes: ChengduChengdu, ChinaDecision (Unanimous)33:0015-6
2017-12-09Win Roberto GheorghitaBellator Kickboxing 8: FlorenceFlorence, ItalyTKO (Ref. Stoppage)22:4915-5
2017-06-25Win Lu YichenHero LegendsShenzhen, ChinaDecision (unanimous)33:0014-5
2017-04-14Loss Gabor GorbicsBellator Kickboxing 6: BudapestBudapest, HungaryDecision (Split)33:0013-5
2016-10-21Loss Robin van RoosmalenGlory 34: DenverBroomfield, ColoradoTKO (corner stoppage)43:0013-4
Loses the Glory Featherweight Championship.
2016-07-22Win Serhiy AdamchukGlory 32: VirginiaNorfolk, VirginiaDecision (majority)53:0013-3
Wins the Glory Featherweight Championship.
2016-01-16Win Liu WeiHero LegendsHainan, ChinaDecision(unanimous)33:0012-3
Wins the Hero Legends Featherweight Championship.
2015-11-06Loss Serhiy AdamchukGlory 25: MilanMonza, ItalyDecision (Unanimous)53:0011-3
Losses the Glory Featherweight Championship.
2015-04-03Win Mosab AmraniGlory 20: DubaiDubai, UAEDecision (unanimous)53:0011-2
Wins the Glory Featherweight Championship.
2014-06-21Win Shane OblonskyGlory 17: Los Angeles - Featherweight Contender Tournament, FinalInglewood, California, USDecision (unanimous)33:0010-2
Wins the Glory Featherweight Contender Tournament.
2014-06-21Win Yodkhunpon SitmonchaiGlory 17: Los Angeles - Featherweight Contender Tournament, Semi FinalsInglewood, California, USDecision (unanimous)33:009-2
2013-10-12Win Jose PalaciosGlory 11: ChicagoHoffman Estates, Illinois, USDecision (unanimous)33:008-2
2013-05-03Loss Yuta KuboGlory 8: Tokyo - 65 kg Slam Tournament, Semi FinalsTokyo, JapanDecision (unanimous)33:007-2
2013-05-03Win Abdellah EzbiriGlory 8: Tokyo - 65 kg Slam Tournament, Quarter FinalsTokyo, JapanDecision (unanimous)33:007-1
2012-09-08Win Lerdsila ChumpairtourK-1 World Grand Prix 2012 in Los AngelesLos Angeles, California, USDecision (unanimous)33:006-1
2011-09-24Win Roy TanFight for a DreamVienna, AustriaKO35-1
Wins the WKF World Light Welterweight (-64.5 kg/142 lb) K-1 Championship.
2011-03-12Win Yohan Ha VanQuest for the TitleVictoria, British Columbia, CanadaDecision (unanimous)53:004-1
Wins the WKN World Lightweight (-64.4 kg/142 lb) Oriental Championship.
2011-01-08Win Xiao JieCanada vs. ChinaJinan, ChinaDecision (unanimous)53:003-1
2010-07-17Loss Terrence HillTake-On Productions, Quarter FinalsNew York City, New York, USDecision (unanimous)33:002-1
2010-02-19Win Justin GreskiewiczFriday Night FightsNew York City, New York, USDecision (unanimous)53:002-0
2009-12-12Win Omar AhmedThe New York Showdown IINew York City, New York, USDecision (unanimous)53:001-0

Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

Amateur kickboxing record
Amateur kickboxing record
15 Wins (7 (T) KO's, 8 decisions), 0 Losses
DateResultOpponentEventLocationMethodRoundTime
2009-10-03Win Nathan SmandychQuest for the Title IVVictoria, British Columbia, CanadaDecision (unanimous)52:00
Retains the ISKA Amateur World Light Welterweight (-64.5 kg/142.2 lb) Oriental Championship.
2009-07-20Win Devon HenryQuest for the Title IIIVictoria, British Columbia, CanadaDecision (split)52:00
Wins the ISKA Amateur World Light Welterweight (-64.5 kg/142.2 lb) Oriental Championship.
2009-06-12Win Matt EmbreeSummer Slugfest IIIVancouver, British Columbia, CanadaDecision52:00
Retains the ISKA Amateur World Super Lightweight (-62.3 kg/137.2 lb) Oriental Championship.
2009-04-04Win Emil SalvaQuest for the Title IILangford, British Columbia, CanadaTKO (punches)32:00
Retains the ISKA Amateur World Super Lightweight (-62.3 kg/137.2 lb) Oriental Championship.
2009-01-24Win Joe ConchaQuest for the Title IVictoria, British Columbia, CanadaDecision52:00
Wins the ISKA Amateur World Super Lightweight (-62.3 kg/137.2 lb) Oriental Championship.
2008-08-15Win Chuck MadySummer SlugfestVictoria, British Columbia, CanadaKO (body punches)1
Wins the ISKA Amateur Canadian Super Lightweight (-62.3 kg/137.2 lb) Oriental Championship.
2008-00-00Win Carlos GarciaDecision42:00
Wins the ISKA Amateur North American Light Welterweight (-64.5 kg/142.2 lb) Oriental Championship.
2006-04-15Win Ronnie AlampourBattle at the BearVictoria, British Columbia, CanadaKO (punches)1

Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
2 matches 1 win 1 loss
By knockout 1 0
By submission 0 0
By decision 0 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Los 1–1 Teejay Britton Decision (split) Bellator 239 February 21, 2020 3 5:00 Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States
Win 1–0 Jamese Taylor TKO (punches) Bellator 224 July 12, 2019 2 3:23 Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States
gollark: Karma: no you can't, one computer per person.
gollark: steamport: *Anavrins* stole it.
gollark: How do you suggest I improve it?
gollark: "Stupid"? Really?
gollark: It *might* be.

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