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]

García was scheduled to face Joaquim Silva on March 29, 2025 at UFC on ESPN 64.[25] However, Silva withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by Vinc Pichel.[26]

Personal life

García and his wife have a daughter (born 2019) and a son (born 2021), both born in Mexicali, Mexico.[2][27]

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.

[28]

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. ^ Harvey Leonard (2025-02-09). "UFC Matchmaking Bulletin: Potential No. 1 Contender Fight For Zhang Weili's Title Booked". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
  26. ^ Parviz Iskenderov (2025-02-20). "UFC Mexico City fight card set with Brandon Moreno vs Steve Erceg in main event". fightmag.com. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  27. ^ Steven Fackman (September 17, 2021). "Rafa Garcia, Nathan Fletcher" (Podcast).
  28. ^ Sherdog.com. "Rafa García". Sherdog.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafa_Garc%C3%ADa_(fighter)
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