But in the midst of that unabated march to the top of the division and championships gold, many fighters come to realize that the competition is tougher, the margin for error is infinitesimal, and the road to success is more like an F-1 track in the middle of a race, filled with twists, turns, dangerous corners, and a ton of others looking to reach the finish line ahead of you.
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“I thought I had it all figured out until I was shown that I don’t,” admitted Fernie Garcia, who makes his third trip into the Octagon this weekend in Singapore, still searching for his first victory when he takes on Japanese prospect Rinya Nakamura. “So I doubled down on the takedown defense, and I’m really excited to see what Rinya can do to me because I don’t think he’ll be able to take me down.”
Garcia touched down in the UFC with 10-1 record, fresh off a dynamite first-round stoppage win over Joshua Weems on Season 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series that extended his winning streak to five.
Another member of the Fortis MMA crew to graduate to the Octagon through the annual talent search, the now 31-year-old bantamweight watched as teammates like Geoff Neal and Ryan Spann followed a similar path to immediate UFC success, and believed the same would hold true for himself.
That wasn’t the case.
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He debuted opposite Journey Newson at UFC 274 in Phoenix, Arizona, dropping a unanimous decision to the veteran, who was fighting for the first time since a first-round knockout loss to Randy Costa in the fall of 2020. Six months later, Garcia shared the Octagon with TUF 30 finalist Brady Hiestand, enjoying more success, but ultimately coming away with the same result.
“Those two fights didn’t go my way, but they were both kinda close. I feel like I wasn’t myself in each of those fights; I didn’t fight my fight,” offered Garcia, one of 10 fighters from the Dallas camp to reach the UFC via the Contender Series. “If you followed me in the regional scene, I’m a lot more aggressive, in-your-face kind of guy, and I haven’t been able to display that.
“What gives me peace is that it hasn’t been my best. If I would have lost both those fights fighting at my best, maybe I would have called it a career or been more scared about what is going to happen this third fight, but everybody who has seen me fight knows I’ve been fighting at my worst my last two fights.
“I think it was just a mental thing; I couldn’t get out of my own way,” he added, presenting a self-diagnosis that has fueled his efforts in preparation for this weekend’s bout in Singapore. “I think those 30 minutes of cage time in the UFC have really helped me. I feel like in the third round against Brady, I kind of started to feel ‘okay, I have experience; I can do this.’”
Not everyone that reaches the UFC has that “okay, I can do this” moment.
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Some are locked in from the start, unwavering in their ability to succeed; deftly navigating hairpin turns and a backlog of traffic to find their way to open track. Others are perpetually overwhelmed and can’t get out of first gear.
But the majority have to go through an acclimation process, getting used to the increased speed, the stiffer competition, the realization that everyone in the UFC was once a regional standout, blowing through the opposition with the same “I’m ready to be a Top 15 fighter right now!” mindset before they too first set foot on the UFC canvas and found out otherwise.
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For Garcia, the ability to identify where he struggled – and why – has been critical to his training camp. Rather than simply chalking those losses up to “it wasn’t my night,” he’s looked inward, addressed the shortfalls in his preparation, and redoubled his efforts in hopes of venturing to Singapore and spoiling Nakamura’s big moment this weekend.
“After my last fight, I was just hoping that I get one more chance to prove it because I feel like a different fighter,” admitted Garcia, who was genuinely nervous that his tandem setbacks would preclude him from getting a third opportunity to step into the Octagon. “I feel like I’ve gotten the experience and am starting to figure this out.
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“I thought I had it all figured out, but then my last fight, Brady bullied me around, which was weird for me. My takedown defense has always been so good, and I think I got so cocky that he wasn’t going to take me down that when it happened, I was like, ‘Whoa!’
“I think I’m the first fighter that Coach (Sayif Saud) has gotten into the UFC that hasn’t had a fast start,” continued Garcia. “I don’t think he’s had anybody lose their first two fights.
Far way from home @Brooke_Loya pic.twitter.com/55xyX7gCWO
— Fernie Garcia (@teamfgarcia) August 20, 2023
“We had big plans, but it all came crashing down very fast, and now we’re here. It’s very scary to be fighting for my job.”
Just as he’s been quick to identify and address the areas where his preparation lagged behind in each of his first two appearances, Garcia is also fully aware of the situation he’s walking into this weekend, venturing to Singapore to take on Nakamura.
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The undefeated 28-year-old is a star on the rise — a former U-23 freestyle wrestling world champion and the breakout star of last year’s Road to UFC series, where he blew through the bantamweight tournament, earning three wins in a combined 378 seconds — or just over six minutes of Octagon time — to run his record to 7-0 and establish himself as someone to play close attention to in the talent-rich 135-pound weight class.
“Up and coming talent is putting it lightly,” he said as the conversation shifted to his opponent. “This kid is a superstar. He’s a big deal. I know the UFC expects huge things from him, but it doesn’t scare me.
“I was there too, years ago, coming off a huge knockout of Josh Weems in front of an entire country. I was there. They had big expectations for me. I’ve been there, and I know you still have to go out there and prove it, and he’s got to go out there and prove it against me, which is no easy task.”
And should he halt Nakamura’s unbeaten run to start his career while registering his first UFC win this weekend, how does Garcia plan to celebrate?
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“My initial reaction would be to get on the first flight back to Dallas and start training for a short-notice fight, hopefully on that September 16 card in Las Vegas with all the Mexicans.
“I have no time to celebrate or be happy — I just lost two fights that I should have won, so I’m a little behind schedule here. I’m already 31 years old — I’ve got no time to celebrate here.”
