LAS VEGAS – Rafa Garcia has no intention of folding to the relentless grappling pressure of Grant Dawson at UFC Fight Night 244 – even if he is coming off a significant knee surgery.
Garcia (16-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) will return to the octagon for the first time since April 2023 on Saturday when he meets Dawson (21-2-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) in a lightweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN+). “Gifted” underwent surgery in July 2023 for a torn ACL and PCL, and has been working hard toward his comeback ever since.
“For me, (the recovery) was a little bit difficult,” Garcia told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “Putting the brakes on me was a little bit hard. Being in bed until 12 every day, that’s not something I do. I usually wake up in the morning at 5 a.m., go walk around, feed the animals and do something. When I was in bed, I was like, ‘Damn, I can’t do nothing.'”
