Things have worked out for [autotag]Rafa Garcia[/autotag].
The Combate Americas lightweight champion has climbed up the fighting ranks in his hometown of Mexicali, Mexico, and Imperial County in California. From impromptu brawls after school to competing professionally in the cage and winning a championship, Garcia (11-0 MMA) has taken his career to new levels, and it’s been a sight to admire in the region.
“I started training when I was 13 years old in a self-defense program,” Garcia told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “My dad took me there because I use to get into a lot of fights, and my dad warned me: ‘There’s people that know how to box, that know how to wrestle, and you can run into someone that knows.’ And I would say, ‘No, I’ll fight whoever, I don’t care who,’ and he was like, ‘OK, let me take you to a gym.’ And, yeah, the first day I left all beat up, but instead of getting scared I liked it and turned it into a job, and here I am.”
Garcia started street fighting at a young age. He always gravitated toward combat and would look for any opportunity to throw down.
“I’ve never been a quiet one, so any dirty look I would get, I would jump at the opportunity to fight,” Garcia said.
“It was mostly after school, like, ‘Hey, we’re all going to gather together, and there’s going to be gloves, whoever wants to put them on them, puts them on,’ and behind my parents back. And me being so nosy, I would always volunteer, and I was always the first to raise my hand. I was like 14, 15 years old.
“Sometimes adults would come by looking for street fights, and we would put on the gloves and beat each other up.”
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The more Garcia got involved in training and amateur fights, the less street fighting caught his interest and the desire faded away. He had his first professional fight at 18, and seven years later he remains unbeaten and ready to make his first title defense on Friday night at Combate Americas 55 in Mexicali.
Garcia takes on former UFC fighter and Copa Combate 2019 winner Humberto Bandenay in the headliner.
“He’s really good, but I’m going in here to fight at my rhythm,” Garcia said. “I’m not going to let him do whatever he wants. I’m going to impose my rhythm, put pressure on him and not let him execute anything. It’s going to be a fight where I dictate the pace.”
Garcia won the inaugural Combate Americas 155-pound title in September, defeating Erick Gonzalez via decision. It was a special moment as Garcia had tons of friends and family attending. Even his school teachers and school principal went to the fight.
“It felt really good, and it wasn’t just the win, because it was a work that took me almost two years to get a title shot in Combate Americas,” Garcia explained. “It was six fights, and on the seventh they gave me a title shot. Also winning that at home in my country and my city, and seeing all my people all excited, that to me was a proud moment. The truth is that it was just amazing. One of the best things that has happened to me.”