Leonard Garcia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Leonard Garcia is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...

. He previously fought for the UFC in the lightweight division before moving down to the featherweight division in the World Extreme Cagefighting

World Extreme Cagefighting

World Extreme Cagefighting was an American mixed martial arts promotion. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship , in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was made up of 3 weight classes: 135, 145 and 155 lbs. To accommodate the smaller...

. Garcia currently trains at Greg Jackson's Submission Fighting located in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...

. He is known for his brawling style and for having an "iron chin", having never being knocked out in MMA competition.

Mixed martial arts career

Garcia began his career in 1999, competing on the regional circuit in the Western United States

Western United States

.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...

. Garcia competed in the first WEC

World Extreme Cagefighting

event back in 2001 at WEC 1

WEC 1

WEC 1: Princes of Pain was a mixed martial arts event held on June 30, 2001 at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. WEC 1s main event was a fight between Dan Severn and Travis Fulton.- Results :...

. After compiling an impressive 8-1 beginning to his professional career, Garcia took a three year break.

Returning to action in 2006, Garcia was tabbed as a short notice replacement against high ranking contender Roger Huerta

Roger Huerta

Roger Huerta , is an American mixed martial artist. He initially gained exposure by competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and later Bellator Fighting Championships.-Early life:...

at UFC 69

UFC 69

UFC 69: Shootout was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, April 7, 2007 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas...

where he lost a very one sided unanimous decision, After taking an awful lot of punishment throughout the fight.

Garcia then defeated Allen Berube by submission at The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale

The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale

The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 23, 2007. Featured were the finals from The Ultimate Fighter 5 in the Lightweight division as well as a main event between B.J. Penn and Jens Pulver.- Preliminary card :*Lightweight...

. In his next bout Garcia lost via decision to Cole Miller

Cole Miller

Jeremiah Cole Miller is an American mixed martial artist, currently competing in the lightweight division in the UFC. His nickname "Magrinho" means "skinny" in Portuguese....

at UFC Fight Night 11

UFC Fight Night 11

UFC Fight Night: Thomas vs Florian referred to by the media as UFC Fight Night 11 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada...

. After going 1-2 with the UFC, Garcia was released from his contract.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Garcia defeated Hiroyuki Takaya

Hiroyuki Takaya

via first round KO at WEC 32

WEC 32

WEC 32: New Mexico was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on Wednesday, February 13, 2008. For the first time under Zuffa ownership, the show was held in Rio Rancho, New Mexico and not the usual spot of Las Vegas, Nevada...

. In his next fight, Leonard knocked out former undisputed UFC lightweight champion and WEC featherweight title challenger Jens Pulver

Jens Pulver

Jens Johnnie Pulver is an American mixed martial artist . He was the first Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion and was a coach on the The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show, which aired on Spike TV. He was formerly signed as a featherweight with World Extreme Cagefighting , which is...

seventy-two seconds into first round at WEC 36

WEC 36

WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on November 5, 2008 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida...

.

On March 1, 2009, Garcia lost the WEC Featherweight title match against champion Mike Brown

Mike Brown (fighter)

Mike Thomas Brown is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization and is a former WEC Featherweight Champion...

. Brown landed a huge overhand right, knocking Gracia down in the first 30 seconds of the fight, landed some ground and pound, and then secured a fight ending arm triangle choke.

Garcia defeated Jameel Massouh

Jameel Massouh

Jameel Badih Massouh is an American mixed martial artist who is most known for competing in the featherweight division for World Extreme Cagefighting...

by controversial split decision

Split decision

A split decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which two of the three judges score for the same fighter as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other...

on August 9, 2009 at WEC 42

WEC 42

WEC 42: Torres vs. Bowles was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on August 9, 2009 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NevadaThe event drew an estimated 670,000 viewers on Versus.-Preliminary card:...

. In his next fight, Garcia lost to Judo specialist Manvel Gamburyan

Manvel Gamburyan

Manvel "Manny" Gamburyan is an Armenian American mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter 5. Besides The Ultimate Fighter, Gamburyan has fought for notable promotions such as King of the Cage and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.Gamburyan is fighting in the...

on November 18, 2009 at WEC 44

WEC 44

WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting. It took place on November 18, 2009 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada.The event drew an estimated 414,000 viewers on Versus.-Preliminary card:...

via unanimous decision.

Garcia was expected to face Diego Nunes

Diego Nunes (MMA)

Diego Nunes is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, currently competing as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Nunes is a kickboxer, who also combines elements of jiu-jitsu in his fighting style. A plurality of his victories have been achieved by submission. As of February 2011,...

on March 6, 2010 at WEC 47

WEC 47

WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on March 6, 2010. It was held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio-Background:...

, but Nunes was forced from the card with an injury. Garcia instead faced former UFC fighter George Roop

George Roop

George H. Roop is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He was a cast member of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir, winning his preliminary and first round fights...

with the bout ending in a split draw that was seen as strange as many felt Roop had won the fight.

Garcia faced WEC newcomer Chan Sung Jung on April 24, 2010 at WEC 48

WEC 48

UFC Presents: Aldo vs. Faber, also referred to as WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on April 24, 2010 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California...

. Garcia replaced Cub Swanson who was forced from the card with an injury. The fight went the full three rounds and Garcia won in a controversial split decision. The fight won Fight of the Night honors, being hailed by UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and announcer Joe Rogan as "the best fight I've seen in my life."

Garcia faced Mark Hominick

Mark Hominick

Mark Hominick is a Canadian mixed martial artist, former TKO Featherweight Champion, and current UFC fighter. Hominick is currently ranked as the #4 featherweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly.-Mixed martial arts career:...

on September 30, 2010 at WEC 51

WEC 51

WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on September 30, 2010 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The event was the first that the WEC hosted in Colorado.-Background:...

. He lost the fight via split decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In October 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting

World Extreme Cagefighting

merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...

. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. Garcia was expected to face Tyler Toner

Tyler Toner

Tyler Toner is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He currently fights in the featherweight division.-WEC:Toner was scheduled to make his World Extreme Cagefighting debut against Brandon Visher on December 19, 2009 at WEC 45...

at The Ultimate 12 Finale

The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Finale

The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs Team Koscheck Finale, also referred to as The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on December 4, 2010.-Background:This was the first...

, but Garcia was pulled from the bout with Toner in favor of a bout with Nam Phan

Nam Phan

Nam Phan is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight and lightweight divisions. He was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck...

.

Garcia won the fight via a highly controversial split decision. Garcia and Phan received Fight of the Night honors for their performances. This was the first televised featherweight bout in the UFC.

A rematch with Phan was expected on March 26, 2011 at UFC Fight Night 24. However, Phan was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Chan Sung Jung. Garcia lost to Jung in the second round, falling victim to the first twister submission in UFC history.

Garcia was expected to face The Ultimate Fighter 12 alumni Alex Caceres

Alex Caceres

Alex Caceres is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight divisions. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Caceres mostly competed in his regional circuit, before signing with the Ultimate Fighting Championships to appear on...

on August 14, 2011 at UFC on Versus 5

UFC on Versus 5

UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 14, 2011, at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The event was the first that the UFC has hosted in Wisconsin...

. However, Garcia was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Jim Hettes

Jim Hettes

Jim Hettes is an American mixed martial artist currently competing as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.-Martial Arts background:...

.

Garcia fought Nam Phan

Nam Phan

Nam Phan is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight and lightweight divisions. He was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck...

in a rematch of their highly controversial TUF 12 Finale bout at UFC 136

UFC 136

UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 8, 2011, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event coincided with a two day UFC Fan Expo held at the George R...

in Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

on October 8, 2011. Garcia lost via unanimous decision in a fight that earned Fight of the Night honors.

Garcia is expected to face Zhang Tie Quan

Zhang Tie Quan

Zhang Tiequan, or Zhang Tie Quan , often anglicised to Tiequan Zhang, is a Chinese mixed martial artist, who fights as a featherweight. He has spent most of his career fighting in the Art of War Fighting Championship in his native China, but in 2010, he joined World Extreme Cagefighting in the...

on February 26, 2012 at UFC 144

UFC 144

UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson is an upcoming mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event is expected to take place on February 26, 2012 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan....

Personal life

In March 2008, Garcia was arrested as part of an alleged cocaine ring, which put his career on hold. According to Garcia, "I had a buddy, a really good friend of mine in Lubbock, and he was into things that weren't good," he said. "I knew about what the guy was up to but he was a friend of mine. The law says even if he's your friend, you are required to report on the guy. The other 11 guys, I didn't know any of them." Three months later, he was exonerated.

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
- Won Fight of the Night (Twice)

World Extreme Cagefighting
World Extreme Cagefighting
World Extreme Cagefighting was an American mixed martial arts promotion. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship , in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was made up of 3 weight classes: 135, 145 and 155 lbs. To accommodate the smaller...
- Won Fight of the Night (Twice)
- Won Knockout of the Night (Once)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Fight of the Year (2010) vs. Chan Sung Jung

Mixed martial arts record

Nam Phan

Nam Phan is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight and lightweight divisions. He was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck...

| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 136

UFC 136

Houston, Texas

UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis

UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 26, 2011 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington.-Background:...

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 15–6–1
| Nam Phan

Nam Phan

Nam Phan is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight and lightweight divisions. He was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck...

| Decision (split)
| The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Finale

The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

Mark Hominick

| Decision (split)
| WEC 51

WEC 51

Broomfield, Colorado

The City and County of Broomfield is a prominent suburb and tier of the Denver metropolitan area in the State of Colorado of the United States. Broomfield has a consolidated city and county government which operates under Article XX, Sections 10-13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. The...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 14–5–1
| Jung Chan-Sung
| Decision (split)
| WEC 48

WEC 48

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

George Roop

| Draw
| WEC 47

WEC 47

WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on March 6, 2010. It was held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio-Background:...

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

Manvel Gamburyan

| Decision (unanimous)
| WEC 44

WEC 44

Las Vegas, Nevada

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 13–4
| Jameel Massouh

Jameel Massouh

Jameel Badih Massouh is an American mixed martial artist who is most known for competing in the featherweight division for World Extreme Cagefighting...

| Decision (split)
| WEC 42

WEC 42

Las Vegas, Nevada

Mike Brown (fighter)

Mike Thomas Brown is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization and is a former WEC Featherweight Champion...

| Submission (arm-triangle choke)
| WEC 39

WEC 39

WEC 39: Brown vs. Garcia was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on March 1, 2009 in Corpus Christi, Texas. The event aired live on the Versus Network....

Corpus Christi, Texas

Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 12–3
| Jens Pulver

Jens Pulver

| TKO (punches)
| WEC 36

WEC 36

WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on November 5, 2008 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida...

Hollywood, Florida

-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 11–3
| Hiroyuki Takaya

Hiroyuki Takaya

| KO (punch)
| WEC 32

WEC 32

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Cole Miller

Jeremiah Cole Miller is an American mixed martial artist, currently competing in the lightweight division in the UFC. His nickname "Magrinho" means "skinny" in Portuguese....

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada

Roger Huerta

| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 69

UFC 69

UFC 69: Shootout was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, April 7, 2007 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas...

Houston, Texas

Castle Rock, Colorado

The Town of Castle Rock is the county seat of Douglas County, Colorado, United States and is named for the prominent castle tower-shaped butte near the center of town. It is part of Colorado's Front Range Urban Corridor and is located roughly 28 miles south of Denver and 37 miles north of...

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

Denver, Colorado

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 6–1
| Víctor Estrada
| KO (head kick)
| WEC 1

WEC 1

Lemoore, California

Lemoore is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of 230 feet . It is part of the Hanford–Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area...

Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

Amarillo, Texas

Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...

Denver, Colorado

Dumas, Texas

Dumas is a city in Moore County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,747 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Moore County. Located approximately fifty miles north of Amarillo, the city is named for...

Dumas, Texas

, United States
|

External links

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