Karate Combat Signs Champion Gabriel Varga To Contract

Gabriel Varga has signed an exclusive fight contract with Karate Combat.

Varga previously competed for both Bellator MMA and GLORY.

The promotion also signed Dastonbek Otabolaev.

Both fighters will compete in the Karate Combat Lightweight Division and are expected to debut in early 2022 as part of the upcoming Karate Combat: Season 4 line-up.

Fourth-degree Shotokan black belt Varga, from Vancouver, Canada, has twice been the GLORY Kickboxing World Featherweight Champion and is also the former Bellator Kickboxing World Featherweight Champion, former ISKA North America Champion and former ISKA Canadian Champion.

His career victories include wins over American standout Kevin Ross and numerous highly-decorated kickboxers including K-1 veteran Mosab Amrani and fellow former GLORY champion Serhii Adamchuk.

“If you’re a fight fan, you know who Gabriel Varga is. The world titles he has held speak for themselves – he’s one of the most elite strikers on the planet. It’s a pleasure to welcome him home to karate and I’m excited to see such a world-class fighter enter The Pit,” said Adam Kovacs, Karate Combat President.

“Lightweight is shaping up to be one of our most competitive divisions. It’s going to be a shark tank next year and I know reigning champion Edgars Skrivers is going to welcome the serious challenges which will be coming his way in 2022.”

After narrowly missing out on a spot at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as part of the Uzbekistan national team, Otaboloaev won a gold medal at the 2021 World Karate Championships in Dubai earlier this year then officially turned professional. 

A fourth-dan black belt, Otaboloaev is recognized as a ‘Master of Sport’ in the Russian Federation system and is the first-ever fighter from the Central Asia region to win the world championships. 

“Winning the Karate World Championships is like winning the Mundials in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or the Worlds in Judo. It’s a huge achievement, even more so because he’s the first fighter from Central Asia to accomplish that,” said Kovacs.

“Uzbekistan is just across the Caspian Sea from Dagestan. That region produces some very tough guys. We’ve all seen what Khabib Nurgamogedov achieved in MMA – if Otaboloaev can do the same in Karate Combat, he’s going to become a legend in this sport.”

Karate Combat: Season 4 is set to air in Spring 2022 and will be the biggest season of Karate Combat to date, with further major signings to be announced and wider global distribution than ever before.