KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Rafa Garcia was a bloody mess, but all he could think about was the win.
That was Garcia’s mindset the last time he fought in December against Maheshate as the two engaged in a hard-fought battle. Toward the end of the second round, Maheshate hit Garcia with an elbow across the side of his head, which opened up a nasty gash that couldn’t be stopped. So in the third round, Garcia, unsure where he stood on the scorecards, fought hard as blood continuously leaked everywhere. Garcia emerged victorious with a unanimous decision.
On Wednesday, ahead of his UFC on ESPN 44 fight with Clay Guida, Garcia recalled what it was like to fight while losing “20 percent” of his blood.
“At that moment, to be honest, I just wanted to get that finish,” Garcia said. “I was going so hard because you know how the judges are. They base (their scores) a lot on damage, you know? I wanted to go out there and leave it clear that I won. It was a hard fight, you know? …
“I mean, at the moment, you don’t realize what’s going on. You’re just like, ‘Man, I just want to finish this guy before it gets worse.’ I didn’t know how bad the cut was until they told me. It took two hours to stitch me up and stop the blood. That was pretty hard.”
Despite losing a lot of blood, Garcia ran on adrenaline in the third round and said he was never concerned about the fight being stopped because of the cut.
“I was pretty sure they weren’t gonna stop it because the cut was on top of the head. I knew that,” Garcia said. “Maybe if it was on the face they would’ve stopped it. But it was the top of the head, and I was like, ‘I’m good.’ I felt like my cardio kept going up, up and up instead of going down.”
Garcia (15-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC), 28, could be in for another firefight with Guida (38-22 MMA, 18-16 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 44 main card opener Saturday at T-Mobile Center. You can be sure Garcia is looking forward to facing the gritty 41-year-old veteran, who’s in the UFC Hall of Fame fight wing for his 2009 war with Diego Sanchez, given his reputation for being as tough as they come.
“It would mean a lot,” Garcia said of a win over Guida. “He’s a Hall of Famer. I have a lot of respect for Clay Guida, but I feel like the biggest respect I could show Clay Guida is going out there and giving him the best version of myself.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.
