Rafa Garcia

Gifted

Mexico

Earns win in native Mexico
LightweightUFC
March 29, 2025
Garcia defeated Vinc Pichel via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Mexico City.
ANALYSIS
Garcia was outworked by Pichel a good portion of this fight, and that's not what you want to see as a -375 favorite. The former won the total strike battle by a 79-64 count, but Rafa certainly landed the more notable blows, in addition to connecting on 2-of-6 takedown attempts. Never known as a cardio machine himself, Garcia dominated Pichel in Round 3 when the fight very easily could have been on the line. Garcia's 5-2 record over his past seven fights is strong, but his ceiling is severely limited by the fact he has just one knockout win in his pro career.
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Fighting Pichel instead of Silva
LightweightUFC
February 20, 2025
Garcia will now fight Vinc Pichel at UFC Mexico on March 29 instead of Joaquim Silva, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Garcia was originally scheduled to fight Joaquim Silva, but Silva has been replaced by Vinc Pichel for undisclosed reasons. Garcia has a disadvantage in height (three inches) and reach (two inches) versus Pichel, but he will undoubtedly have the crowd behind him in his home country.
Scheduled for UFC Mexico
LightweightUFC
February 5, 2025
Garcia is scheduled to compete against Joaquim Silva in a lightweight fight at UFC Mexico on March 29, according to Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes.
ANALYSIS
In his home country, Garcia will have an opportunity to bounce back from a lopsided defeat via TKO at the hands of Grant Dawson. Garcia will look for his first competitive fight and win since 2022.
Dominated by Grant Dawson
LightweightUFC
October 12, 2024
Garcia lost to Grant Dawson via TKO (strikes) at 1:42 of Round 2 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Garcia wasn't the least bit competitive as the second-largest underdog on the card at +260. He was fine for about a minute or so when the two men were on the feet, but once Dawson went to his grappling game, it was over. Garcia offered zero resistance on the mat in Round 1, and Dawson went right back to the well in Round 2, scoring another takedown and pounding his way to the stoppage. Rafa has proven to be reasonable roster depth in his three-plus years with the company, but UFC brass can't be matching him up against the likes of guys like Dawson.
Finally books next outing
LightweightUFC
July 16, 2024
Garcia will take on Grant Dawson at a UFC event on Oct. 12, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
The Mexican lightweight will finally get his next bout, as he hasn't fought since a win via unanimous decision over Clay Guida back in April of 2023. Garcia will take on Dawson, who has more experience in the UFC with a 9-1-1 record and also holds a two inch reach advantage.
Easily handles Clay Guida
LightweightUFC
April 15, 2023
Garcia defeated Clay Guida via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at UFC on ESPN 44 on Saturday in Kansas City.
ANALYSIS
Garcia entered as a -275 favorite, which while massive, turned out to be nowhere near a high enough number. The most amazing part of all is that Rafa won this fight going away despite the fact he didn't have to do much of anything. He simply stood around and worked behind his jab the entire bout, ultimately landing 143 total strikes compared to 63 from Clay. Garcia also stuffed three token takedown attempts from Guida in cruising to the win. Rafa has won four of five dating back to November 2021, with the lone setback during that span being a unanimous decision at the hands of Drakkar Klose in July 2022.