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Pablo Garza (fighter)

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Pablo Garza
BornPablo Garza
(1983-09-16) September 16, 1983 (age 41)
Wasco, California, United States
Other namesThe Scarecrow
NationalityAmerican
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Weight145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st)
DivisionLightweight (formerly)
Featherweight
Reach73 in (190 cm)
Fighting out ofFargo, North Dakota, United States
TeamAcademy of Combat Arts
RankBrown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu[2]
Years active2007–2013
Mixed martial arts record
Total16
Wins12
By knockout2
By submission7
By decision3
Losses4
By knockout0
By submission3
By decision1
Draws0
Other information
UniversityUniversity of North Dakota[2]
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Pablo Garza (born September 16, 1983) is a former American mixed martial artist who fought in the Featherweight division. He has competed for the UFC, WEC, and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck.

Background

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Garza was born in Wasco, California to parents who both emigrated from Mexico. Garza and his family moved to North Dakota, where he attended high school and played baseball, basketball, and track. He continued to play basketball in college for two years at the University of Jamestown, as a point guard. He eventually earned a degree in exercise science and personal training at the University of North Dakota. While Garza was in college, he worked two jobs at a factory making windmill blades and also did an internship at a gym.

Early career

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Garza trains out of Dylan Spicers' MMA gym the Academy of Combat Arts in Fargo, North Dakota, as well as the Academy in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota with the likes of Jacob Volkmann, Nik Lentz, Pat Barry and coach Greg Nelson.[3] Garza is a predominantly ground-based muay thai fighter,[4] where he has managed to secure several submission victories.[3] A Fargo, North Dakota-based Mexican American from Grafton, North Dakota,[5]

Prior to joining the UFC, Garza appeared for promotions such as King of the Cage and Brutal Fight Night.[3]

The Ultimate Fighter

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Garza then signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship to appear on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck.[6]

In the debut episode, Garza lost to touted prospect[7] Michael Johnson in a two-round decision.[8]

Outside promotions

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After leaving the UFC, Garza fought in smaller, outside promotions. Before his Ultimate Fighter fight with Michael Johnson had even aired on television, Garza faced William Joplin, winning via unanimous decision.[3] The fight, which was predominantly stand-up based, saw Garza break the nose of Joplin, before taking control of the fight.[9]

Garza then faced Aaron Steele on September 11, 2010. In preparation for the fight, Garza visited Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, training with Sean Sherk, Jacob Volkmann and Greg Nelson.[9] Garza went on to win the fight via TKO (punches) late in the third round.[3]

World Extreme Cagefighting

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Garza was then signed by the UFC's sister promotion, World Extreme Cagefighting. Replacing Jason Reinhardt, Garza stepped up to face Tiequan Zhang on the undercard of WEC 51 on 5 days notice.[7] He lost the fight via submission in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

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In October 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.[10]

Garza made his UFC and featherweight debut against Fredson Paixão at The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Finale.[11] This was the first ever featherweight fight in the UFC. Garza knocked Paixão out 51 seconds into the first round with a flying knee. After being unconscious for nearly two minutes, Paixão was on his back for close to four minutes while being given oxygen, before being placed in a neck brace and carried out on a stretcher. Garza earned Knockout of the Night honors for the performance.[12]

Garza defeated Yves Jabouin on April 30, 2011 at UFC 129 via first round submission due to a flying triangle choke.[13] The finish earned him Submission of the Night honors and $129,000.

Garza faced Dustin Poirier on November 12, 2011 at UFC on Fox 1.[14] He lost the fight in the second round after tapping out to a d'arce choke.

Garza next faced Dennis Bermudez at UFC on Fox 3 on May 5, 2012.[15] He lost the fight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Garza was expected to face Josh Grispi on August 4, 2012 at UFC on FOX 4.[16] However, Garza was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Rani Yahya.[17]

Garza faced Mark Hominick on November 17, 2012 at UFC 154.[18] He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Garza faced Diego Brandão on April 6, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV 9.[19] He lost the fight via first round submission and was subsequently released from the promotion.[20]

Post UFC

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Shortly after his release from the UFC, Garza relocated to Oslo, Norway. It was expected that he would receive offers from the elite European MMA promotions such as Britain's Cage Warriors and BAMMA or Sweden's Superior Challenge. However, Garza has not competed since his release from the UFC.

Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
16 matches 12 wins 4 losses
By knockout 2 0
By submission 7 3
By decision 3 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 12–4 Diego Brandão Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi April 6, 2013 1 3:27 Stockholm, Sweden
Win 12–3 Mark Hominick Decision (unanimous) UFC 154 November 17, 2012 3 5:00 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Loss 11–3 Dennis Bermudez Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller May 5, 2012 3 5:00 East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States
Loss 11–2 Dustin Poirier Submission (D'Arce choke) UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. dos Santos November 12, 2011 2 1:32 Anaheim, California, United States
Win 11–1 Yves Jabouin Submission (flying triangle choke) UFC 129 April 30, 2011 1 4:31 Toronto, Ontario, Canada Submission of the Night
Win 10–1 Fredson Paixão KO (flying knee) The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale December 4, 2010 1 0:51 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Featherweight debut; Knockout of the Night.
Loss 9–1 Zhang Tiequan Submission (guillotine choke) WEC 51 September 30, 2010 1 2:26 Broomfield, Colorado, United States
Win 9–0 Aaron Steele TKO (punches) Crowbar MMA: Fall Brawl September 11, 2010 3 2:57 Fargo, North Dakota, United States
Win 8–0 William Joplin Decision (unanimous) The Cage Inc.: Battle at the Border 6 August 21, 2010 3 5:00 Hankinson, North Dakota, United States
Win 7–0 Nate Bell Submission (punches) KOTC: Ice Age March 5, 2010 1 1:00 Mahnomen, Minnesota, United States
Win 6–0 Jayson Fuentes Submission (rear-naked choke) EB: Beatdown at 4 Bears 6 February 13, 2010 2 4:54 New Town, North Dakota, United States
Win 5–0 Caleb Wolff Submission (armbar) Brutaal Fight Night: All American Cage Fighting December 12, 2009 1 3:37 Bismarck, North Dakota, United States
Win 4–0 Mitch Jackson Submission (triangle choke) Max Fights 6 August 29, 2009 1 0:53 Fargo, North Dakota, United States
Win 3–0 Jonathan Knutson Decision (unanimous) EB: Beatdown at 4 Bears 4 March 21, 2009 3 5:00 New Town, North Dakota, United States
Win 2–0 Tyler Larson Submission (kimura) Max Fights 4 July 19, 2008 1 3:38 Fargo, North Dakota, United States
Win 1–0 Mike Davis Submission (guillotine choke) KO: Productions August 11, 2007 1 0:38 Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States

References

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  1. ^ "Bold Statement of the Day: Pablo Garza Is 10 Pounds Away From Being the Jon Jones of Bantamweight". cagepotato.com.
  2. ^ a b "In Spite of His UFC Success, Pablo Garza Says His Mom Still Doesn't Know Exactly What It Is He Does For a Living". CagePotato.com. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Pablo Garza". sherdog.com. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  4. ^ "Spike TV unveils TUF 12 cast: Pablo Garza". sherdog.com. August 3, 2010.
  5. ^ "Pablo Garza". UFC.
  6. ^ "Meet the cast for "The Ultimate Fighter 12," field includes 28 lightweights". mmajunkie.com. August 3, 2010. Archived from the original on August 6, 2010.
  7. ^ a b "Jason Reinhardt out, Pablo Garza in against Tiequan Zhang at WEC 51". mmajunkie.com. September 27, 2010.
  8. ^ "Episode no.1 recap: "The Ultimate Fighter 12: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck"". mmajunkie.com. September 16, 2010. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010.
  9. ^ a b "Pablo "The Scarecrow" Garza MMA at UP Center". hpr1.com. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  10. ^ "UFC and WEC set to merge in 2011; events to air on Versus and Spike TV". mmajunkie.com. October 28, 2010.
  11. ^ "Pablo Garza vs. Fredson Paixao in the works for The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale. This fight will be the first ever featherweight match of the UFC". mmajunkie.com. November 4, 2010. Archived from the original on November 7, 2010.
  12. ^ [1] Archived December 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Pablo Garza vs. Yves Jabouin expected for UFC 129 in Toronto". mmajunkie.com. January 5, 2011.
  14. ^ "Dustin Poirier vs. Pablo Garza Announced as First Bout for Fox Fight Night Nov 12". MMAWeekly.com. August 18, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  15. ^ "UFC on FOX 3 adds Johnny Bedford vs. Nick Denis, Dennis Bermudez vs. Pablo Garza". mmainterplay.com. February 17, 2012. Archived from the original on February 21, 2012.
  16. ^ "UFC on FOX 4 adds Grispi-Garza". mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  17. ^ "UFC on FOX 4 gets Josh Grispi vs Rani Yahya". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  18. ^ "Hominick vs. Garza set for UFC 154 in Montreal". mmajunkie.com. August 2, 2012. Archived from the original on August 4, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  19. ^ "UFC on FUEL TV 9 adds Brandao-Garza". mmajunkie.com. February 12, 2013.
  20. ^ MMAjunkie.com Staff (May 7, 2013). "Pablo Garza and Antonio Carvalho confirm UFC releases". mmajunkie.com.
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