Rafa García (fighter)
Rafa García | |
---|---|
Born | Rafael García Júnior[1] August 5, 1994 Brawley, California, United States |
Other names | Gifted |
Residence | Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico |
Nationality | Mexican |
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
Weight | 155 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb) |
Division | Lightweight |
Reach | 70.0 in (178 cm)[2] |
Fighting out of | Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico |
Team | Team Punisher[3] Yuma United MMA (formerly)[3] UFC GYM Costa Mesa (2017–present)[3] Huntington Beach Ultimate Training Center[3] |
Rank | Blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu[4] |
Years active | 2014–present |
Mixed martial arts record | |
Total | 15 |
Wins | 13 |
By knockout | 1 |
By submission | 7 |
By decision | 5 |
Losses | 2 |
By decision | 2 |
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog |
Rafael García Júnior[1] (born August 5, 1994) is an American-born Mexican 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.[3][5] He started training martial arts at the age of 13 when his father took him to a gym to learn self-defense.[3][6] He graduated from Imperial High School where he wrestled for one year.[3][5] 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.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]
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.[10] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[11]
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.[12]
García then faced Natan Levy at UFC Fight Night: Vieira vs. Tate on November 20, 2021.[13] He won the bout via unanimous decision.[14]
García is scheduled to face Jesse Ronson on April 16, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 206.[15]
Personal life[]
García and his wife have a daughter (born 2019) and a son (born 2021), both born in Mexicali, Mexico.[3][16]
Championships and accomplishments[]
- Combate Americas
- Combate Americas Lightweight Championship (one time; first; former)
- One successful title defense
- Combate Americas Lightweight Championship (one time; first; former)
Mixed martial arts record[]
Professional record breakdown | ||
15 matches | 13 wins | 2 losses |
By knockout | 1 | 0 |
By submission | 7 | 0 |
By decision | 5 | 2 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 13–2 | Natan Levy | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Vieira vs. Tate | November 20, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Loss | 12–2 | Chris Gruetzemacher | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland | July 31, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Loss | 12–1 | Nasrat Haqparast | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad | March 13, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 12–0 | Humberto Bandenay | Decision (unanimous) | Combate 55: Mexicali | February 21, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Mexicali, Mexico | Defended the Combate Americas Lightweight Championship. |
Win | 11–0 | Erick Gonzalez | Decision (unanimous) | Combate 44: Mexicali | September 20, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Mexicali, Mexico | Won the inaugural Combate Americas Lightweight Championship. |
Win | 10–0 | Estevan Payan | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Combate 39: Unbreakable | June 7, 2019 | 1 | 4:50 | Tucson, Arizona, United States | |
Win | 9–0 | Edgar Escarrega | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Combate 30: Mexicali | February 8, 2019 | 2 | 1:07 | Mexicali, Mexico | |
Win | 8–0 | LaRue Burley | KO (punches) | Combate 24: Alday vs. Lopez | September 14, 2018 | 1 | 2:26 | Phoenix, Arizona, United States | |
Win | 7–0 | Chase Gibson | Decision (majority) | Combate 20: Combate Estrellas 1 | April 13, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Los Angeles, California, United States | Lightweight debut. |
Win | 6–0 | Marcos Bonilla | Submission (armbar) | Combate 17: El Grito En La Jaula | September 15, 2017 | 2 | 1:07 | Redlands, California, United States | |
Win | 5–0 | Raúl Najera Ocampo | Submission (heel hook) | Combate 10 | January 19, 2017 | 1 | 1:04 | Mexico City, Mexico | |
Win | 4–0 | Jovany Amador | Submission (armbar) | Warrior Championship Fighting 8 | December 3, 2016 | 1 | 3:21 | Mexicali, Mexico | |
Win | 3–0 | Antonio Barajas | N/A | Fight for Glory 2 | August 1, 2015 | N/A | N/A | 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. |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ a b Mixed martial arts show results Date: March 13, 2021
- ^ "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Rafa Garcia". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ a b "Imperial's Garcia to make UFC debut on Saturday". Imperial Valley Press. March 12, 2021.
- ^ "Ahead of Combate Americas title defense, Rafa Garcia reflects on Mexicali street fighting origins". MMA Junkie. 2020-02-21. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ Eric Kowal (March 13, 2018). "Combate Americas – Six New Fights Added To April 13 Live Event in LA". mymmanews.com.
- ^ Danny Segura (February 21, 2020). "Ahead of Combate Americas title defense, Rafa Garcia reflects on Mexicali street fighting origins". MMAjunkie.com.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Gabriel Gonzalez (March 9, 2021). "UFC Vegas 21: Rafa Garcia Steps in to Face Nasrat Haqparast". cagesidepress.com.
- ^ Alex Behunin (March 13, 2021). "UFC Vegas 21 Results: Nasrat Haqparast Defeats Rafa Garcia Via Unanimous Decision". cagesidepress.com.
- ^ Daniel Vreeland (July 31, 2021). "UFC Vegas 33 Results: Chris Gruetzemacher Pours it on, Decisions Rafa Garcia". cagesidepress.com.
- ^ Farah Hannoun (September 6, 2021). "UFC books Rafa Garcia vs. Natan Levy for Nov. 20 event". MMAjunkie.com.
- ^ Bitter, Shawn (2021-11-20). "UFC Vegas 43: Rafa Garcia Tops Natan Levy, Earns First UFC Win". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
- ^ "Ronson vs. Garcia toegevoegd aan evenement op 16 april". Eurosport (in Dutch). 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ Steven Fackman (September 17, 2021). "Rafa Garcia, Nathan Fletcher" (Podcast).
- ^ Sherdog.com. "Rafa García". Sherdog.
External links[]
- Rafa García at UFC
- Rafa García at Sherdog
- Rafa García at Tapology.com
- Rafa García at Fight Matrix
- Rafa García on Instagram
- 1994 births
- Living people
- Mexican male mixed martial artists
- Lightweight mixed martial artists
- Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu
- Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters
- Mexican practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu