Rafa García (fighter)

Rafa García
BornRafael García Jr.
(1994-08-05) August 5, 1994 (age 30)
Brawley, California, U.S.
Other namesGifted
ResidenceMexicali, Baja California, Mexico
NationalityMexican
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight155 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb)
DivisionLightweight
Reach70.0 in (178 cm)[1]
Fighting out ofMexicali, Baja California, Mexico
TeamTeam Punisher[2]
Yuma United MMA (formerly)[2]
UFC GYM Costa Mesa (2017–present)[2]
Huntington Beach Ultimate Training Center[2]
RankBlue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[3]
Years active2014–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total19
Wins15
By knockout1
By submission8
By decision6
Losses4
By knockout1
By decision3
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Rafael García Jr. (born August 5, 1994) is an American-born Mexican professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional mixed martial artist since 2014, García is also a former Combate Americas Lightweight Champion.

Background

García was born in Brawley, California to Mexican parents and grew up in El Centro, California, and has a sister and a younger brother.[2][4] He started training martial arts at the age of 13 when his father took him to a gym to learn self-defense.[2][5] He graduated from Imperial High School where he wrestled for one year.[2][4] He lives in Mexicali, Baja California since 2013.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Racking up a 4–0 record in Mexico, García participated in the inaugural Combate Americas open tryouts and receiving a contract after winning the tryouts.[6] In Combate Americas García went undefeated 8–0 and claiming the Combate Americas Lightweight Championship against Erick Gonzalez at Combate 44 on September 20, 2019.[7] He successfully defended the title against Humberto Bandenay at Combate 55 on February 21, 2020. On June 13, 2020, García announced that he had vacated the title.[8]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On March 10, 2021, it was announced that García would be replacing Don Madge against Nasrat Haqparast at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad on March 13, 2021.[9] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[10]

In his sophomore appearance, García faced Chris Gruetzemacher at UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland on July 31, 2021. Despite knocking Gruetzemacher down in the first round, García went on to lose the fight via unanimous decision.[11]

García then faced Natan Levy at UFC Fight Night: Vieira vs. Tate on November 20, 2021.[12] He won the bout via unanimous decision.[13]

García faced Jesse Ronson on April 16, 2022 at UFC on ESPN 34.[14] He won the fight via rear-naked choke in round two.[15]

García faced Drakkar Klose, replacing injured Carlos Diego Ferreira, on July 30, 2022 at UFC 277.[16] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[17]

García faced Hayisaer Maheshate on December 17, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 216.[18] At the weigh-ins, Hayisaer Maheshate weighed in at 158.5 pounds, two and a half pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Maheshate was fined 20% of his purse, which went to García.[19] García won the fight via unanimous decision.[20]

García faced Clay Guida on April 15, 2023 at UFC on ESPN 44.[21] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[22]

García faced Grant Dawson on October 12, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 244.[23] He lost the fight by technical knockout via ground elbows and punches in the second round.[24]

Personal life

García and his wife have a daughter (born 2019) and a son (born 2021), both born in Mexicali, Mexico.[2][25]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
19 matches 15 wins 4 losses
By knockout 1 1
By submission 8 0
By decision 6 3
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 15–4 Grant Dawson TKO (elbows and punches) UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Taira October 12, 2024 2 1:42 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 15–3 Clay Guida Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Holloway vs. Allen April 15, 2023 3 5:00 Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Win 14–3 Hayisaer Maheshate Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland December 17, 2022 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Catchweight (158.5 lb) bout; Maheshate missed weight.
Loss 13–3 Drakkar Klose Decision (unanimous) UFC 277 July 30, 2022 3 5:00 Dallas, Texas, United States
Win 13–2 Jesse Ronson Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2 April 16, 2022 2 4:50 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States García was deducted one point in round 2 due to an illegal knee.
Win 12–2 Natan Levy Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Vieira vs. Tate November 20, 2021 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 11–2 Chris Gruetzemacher Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland July 31, 2021 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 11–1 Nasrat Haqparast Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad March 13, 2021 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 11–0 Humberto Bandenay Decision (unanimous) Combate 55 February 21, 2020 3 5:00 Mexicali, Mexico Defended the Combate Americas Lightweight Championship.
Win 10–0 Erick Gonzalez Decision (unanimous) Combate 44 September 20, 2019 3 5:00 Mexicali, Mexico Won the inaugural Combate Americas Lightweight Championship.
Win 9–0 Estevan Payan Submission (rear-naked choke) Combate 39 June 7, 2019 1 4:50 Tucson, Arizona, United States
Win 8–0 Edgar Escarrega Submission (rear-naked choke) Combate 30 February 8, 2019 2 1:07 Mexicali, Mexico
Win 7–0 LaRue Burley KO (punches) Combate 24 September 14, 2018 1 2:26 Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win 6–0 Chase Gibson Decision (majority) Combate 20 April 13, 2018 3 5:00 Los Angeles, California, United States Lightweight debut.
Win 5–0 Marcos Bonilla Submission (armbar) Combate 17 September 15, 2017 2 1:07 Redlands, California, United States
Win 4–0 Raúl Najera Ocampo Submission (heel hook) Combate 10 January 19, 2017 1 1:04 Mexico City, Mexico
Win 3–0 Jovany Amador Submission (armbar) Warrior Championship Fighting 8 December 3, 2016 1 3:21 Mexicali, Mexico
Win 2–0 Mike Sandoval Submission (armbar) Warrior Championship Fighting 6 July 18, 2015 1 0:24 Mexicali, Mexico
Win 1–0 Dante Ramos Submission (armbar) Extreme Full Contact 4 October 18, 2014 1 2:06 Mexicali, Mexico Featherweight debut.

[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Jesse Ruiz (October 25, 2020). Rafa "Gifted" Garcia talks Family, Fighting, and His Rise to the Top – via YouTube.
  3. ^ "Rafa Garcia". UFC.com. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Imperial's Garcia to make UFC debut on Saturday". Imperial Valley Press. March 12, 2021.
  5. ^ "Ahead of Combate Americas title defense, Rafa Garcia reflects on Mexicali street fighting origins". MMA Junkie. 2020-02-21. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  6. ^ Eric Kowal (March 13, 2018). "Combate Americas – Six New Fights Added To April 13 Live Event in LA". mymmanews.com.
  7. ^ Danny Segura (February 21, 2020). "Ahead of Combate Americas title defense, Rafa Garcia reflects on Mexicali street fighting origins". MMAjunkie.com.
  8. ^ Rafa García [@rafagifted1] (June 13, 2020). "After careful consideration with my family, team & management. I have decided to vacate the @combateamericas 155lbs belt. I would like to thank Combate for the opportunity to fight for the belt and defend it" – via Instagram.
  9. ^ Gabriel Gonzalez (March 9, 2021). "UFC Vegas 21: Rafa Garcia Steps in to Face Nasrat Haqparast". cagesidepress.com.
  10. ^ Alex Behunin (March 13, 2021). "UFC Vegas 21 Results: Nasrat Haqparast Defeats Rafa Garcia Via Unanimous Decision". cagesidepress.com.
  11. ^ Daniel Vreeland (July 31, 2021). "UFC Vegas 33 Results: Chris Gruetzemacher Pours it on, Decisions Rafa Garcia". cagesidepress.com.
  12. ^ Farah Hannoun (September 6, 2021). "UFC books Rafa Garcia vs. Natan Levy for Nov. 20 event". MMAjunkie.com.
  13. ^ Bitter, Shawn (2021-11-20). "UFC Vegas 43: Rafa Garcia Tops Natan Levy, Earns First UFC Win". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  14. ^ "Ronson vs. Garcia toegevoegd aan evenement op 16 april". Eurosport (in Dutch). 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  15. ^ Anderson, Jay (2022-04-16). "UFC Vegas 51: Faced with Point Deduction, Rafa Garcia Submits Jesse Ronson". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
  16. ^ Nolan King (2022-07-18). "UFC 277 hit with multitude of withdrawals. Here's where the card stands less than two weeks away". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  17. ^ Theodosi, Jamie (2022-07-30). "UFC 277: After Impressive Display Against Rafa Garcia, Drakkar Klose Calls Out "El Cucuy"". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  18. ^ "Rafa Garcia vs. Maheshate Hayisaer agregado a UFC Vegas 66 - MMA.uno, #1 En noticias de Artes Marciales Mixtas (MMA) en Español". mma.uno (in Spanish). 2022-10-04. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  19. ^ Alexander K. Lee (2022-12-16). "UFC Vegas 66 weigh-in results: Maheshate misses weight by 2.5 pounds". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  20. ^ Anderson, Jay (2022-12-17). "UFC Vegas 66: Bad Blood Boils Over, Rafa García Bloodied but Victorious Against Maheshate". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  21. ^ Anderson, Jay (2023-02-10). "Clay Guida vs. Rafa Garcia Booked for UFC Kansas City". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  22. ^ Dewar, Val (2023-04-15). "UFC Kansas City: Rafa García Tenderizes Clay Guida's Face to 30-27 Sweep". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  23. ^ Bryson Hester (2024-07-17). "UFC: Grant Dawson to Fight Rafa Garcia on October 12". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  24. ^ Bryson Hester (2024-10-12). "Grant Dawson Fired Up After Rafa Garcia Stoppage Win at UFC Vegas 98". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
  25. ^ Steven Fackman (September 17, 2021). "Rafa Garcia, Nathan Fletcher" (Podcast).
  26. ^ Sherdog.com. "Rafa García". Sherdog.