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Squamish fighter readies himself for professional debut

Indroop Virk will be fighting BFL 66, which will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Indroop Virk is treating his upcoming debut as a professional fighter, which will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass, like any other fight.

"Honestly, it's no different. It's just another day, another fight. Pro or amateur, it's just another fight,"  Virk told The Chief on Feb. 4.

But it's not to be mistaken for a lack of enthusiasm, as the 22-year old fighter knows this will be a milestone for him.

"It feels great," he added. "This is what I've been wanting to do ever since I started when I was 15."

On March 19, Virk will be fighting a match in Battlefield Fight League 66 against Nick Kambasis, a 27-year-old Ontarian who has a 1-0-0 undefeated pro record. The fight location has yet to be announced.

While this will be Virk's first match against a professional fighter, his undefeated 7-0-0 amateur record shows he's no stranger to the ring.

In his amateur MMA career, he's taken championship belts at BFL 64 as a bantamweight and BFL 58 as the interim flyweight champion.

He also took the featherweight title at Rumble in the Cage 61.

However, this match will be different. It's still under the BFL name, but as an event streamed on the UFC Fight Pass network, it will have a far bigger audience.

"It's obviously going to have a lot of people watching from around the world," said Virk.

"I think it's great getting that exposure before you even make it to the UFC, just having all these people knowing who you are."

Another perk of the match is it will give Virk a chance to fight in the big leagues with less pressure.

Because of COVID-19, the fighters will be fighting in an empty arena. The audience will be entirely virtual.

Virk said it at least partially takes some of the edge off.

His new audience arrives as part of a deal the UFC struck with six new promotions.

The premier MMA league announced in December, starting 2021, it would be streaming events from Battlefield Fight League, Unified Mixed Martial Arts, The Golden Cage, Tuff-N-Uff, Fight Club Rush, and Lion Fight.

In the meantime, Virk still keeps up with his usual training regimen, working on stand-up strikes and his ground game.

He's still affiliated with local gym The Sound Martial Arts, but also trains with Revolution Martial Arts and Scorpion MMA.

He describes himself as primarily a grappler, with a focus on Brazilian jiu-jitsu and wrestling.

Virk said he trains two to three times a day when he's not working at Fresh Cuts as a barber.

As his big day approaches, he's keeping a cool head.

"It's just the same as any other fight to be honest," he said.

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