Fernando García: Mexican style convinces
Dana White’s 2021 Contender Series season opened the doors for Latin American fighters and especially for Mexican fighters. Fernando Garcia (9-1) is no exception. He will face Paul Capaldo on October 5.
Although he was born in El Paso, Texas, he spent most of his childhood in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, with his family before moving to Texas to dedicate himself 100% to his mixed martial arts career.
“I spent my whole life from here to there, I am very grateful for everything this country has given me, but I feel one hundred percent Mexican,” he explains in an interview with ESPN Deportes.
‘Fernie’ who has won his last four fights in the LFA promoter has a good grappling base and an effective submission game, but prefers to honor his Mexican side with an aggressive style of boxing in the stand-up bout, which he assures will convince Dana White in his opportunity.
“I’m not worried about that. My last few fights are decisions, but I’ve destroyed my opponents’ faces. Broken noses, broken eyes from the first round. I’ve put on a boxing clinic, if the boss (Dana White) had been in those fights he would have been very happy even if he hadn’t finished them,” added the Juarense.
Although early in his career he got wins by submission, he has focused on the exchange, rather than securing victories with the fight: “My style of fighting and boxing Dana is going to love. I grew up doing wrestling and jiu-jitsu was my forte, but my Mexican blood made me a boxer, now I just use my wrestling to defend. I’m Mexican blood and I like to box; he’s going to be thrilled because that’s how I fight.”
Moving to Dallas, with the Fortis MMA team has been the step he needed to dedicate himself one hundred percent as a professional, with a dozen teammates who are already in the UFC and under coach Sayif Saud. He now considers himself ready to face the up-and-coming Capaldo, who is coming off a resounding knockout of Chris Vasil by spinning back kick.
“He’s a very strong fighter, he used to fight at 145 pounds, he has three or four knockouts. One was viral on SportsCenter and all that, for me delighted to face someone like him,” he responded.
Like most Mexicans looking to transcend in MMA, today he has Brandon Moreno as a reference and wants to follow that path.
“Brandon became an idol and I have a similar style, up pressure, pressure and always forward. I am very proud to be Mexican. I grew up in Juarez, some months in El Paso. But for me the biggest thing is the pressure of representing the country now.”
Week six of Dana White’s Contender Series will also feature Venezuela’s Piera Rodriguez against Brazil’s Valesca Machado and Mexico’s Genaro Valdez against American Patrik White.
