Gabi Garcia is ready to be at the MMA but she does not want to face just a nobody. She wants a real challenger.
Garcia is a Brazilian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) practitioner, grappling world champion, and member of the IBJJF Hall of Fame. She trains in São Paulo with Fabio Gurgel, at the Alliance team, where she has achieved two Abu Dhabi Combat Club championships and nine world Brazilian jiu-jitsu championships. She has signed a deal with Japanese promotion Real Fight to make her MMA debut in Tokyo on Dec. 23.
Garcia is willing to loss her weight from 226 to 198 pounds for her first MMA bout but told Tatame that she hasn't agreed to face Yabushita.
She said "We have been negotiating fight purse, opponents, etc, and they suddenly announced me on this card without talking to me. I haven't even heard about this girl. They surprised me as well. I was in talks to fight on Dec. 23, but I had no opponent yet."
She adds "Yabushita offered herself to fight me, because she has fought bigger girls before, but I won't take (the fight). I'm anxious to make my debut, but I need an opponent of my size. Some girls want to fight me to get attention, but can't make a joke, a circus out of this. I want a real fight."
On the other hand, Garic has other options in mind namely, Amanda Lucas (5-1) or Lana Stefanac (6-0). She is also willing to fight in Brazil if there are no opponents in Real Fight.
She said "I want to fight MMA as a challenge, it's not about money or anything like that. I didn't take this fight because of the weight, size and strength difference. People always judged me for being stronger, so I think that accepting this fight wouldn't be good for my career and my image."
She adds "I think I can make 192 pounds. For this fight in Japan, I said I would be willing to cut down to 198. The problem is that Real Fight wants me to fight a Japanese fighter. There are a few promotions in Brazil making me offers, like XFC. I just want to fight. I even looked at potential opponents. There's Amanda Lucas, a girl that fought for DEEP, and Lana, that I fought a few times in jiu-jitsu. Those are big girls, but, if they can't find opponents for me (in Japan), I will make my debut here in Brazil."
