Coach Cub Swanson
flipped a mental switch in Rafa
Garcia. 

Garcia took on Alexander
Hernandez  (18-9) in a lightweight clash at
UFC Fight Night 274 in Las Vegas. While Hernandez showed
immense grit, Garcia battered him increasingly as the fight
progressed to earn a unanimous decision win. 

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Garcia (19-4) subsequently thanked his coach, Swanson, who is
running things at Team Bloodline in Costa Mesa, California, since
his retirement from professional competition. Swanson urged Garcia
to get “mean” before heading into the final round against
Hernandez. Garcia revealed that the UFC veteran has been instilling
the “mean mentality’”in him for a while. While Garcia is naturally
a “nice” person, he credits Swanson for teaching him to be “mean”
inside the Octagon. Not a man of many words, Garcia stays far away
from trash talk or other antics outside the Octagon. Garcia says
that Swanson advised him to stay true to his nature instead of
trying to pull off a facade. With trash talk not being his forte,
Garcia plans to sell himself by his performances.

Being Authentic

“Just the mentality Cub put me into, to get into that ‘mean’
mentality,” Garcia said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “He
told me before my fight, ‘You gotta be mean for 15 minutes. No more
nice Rafa. You’re nice in training, but you gotta be mean right
here. You gotta go in there and be a badass… I might not talk a
lot. Cub always told me, ‘Don’t try to be someone that you’re not.’
When I go in there, I’m gonna sell myself by giving that show, that
fight, that war that you want to see.” 

Swanson (31-14) was carried over from the
WEC to the
UFC. “Killer” acquired a wealth of experience, having fought in
the UFC since 2011, beating elites like Dustin
Poirier and Charles
Oliveira, among others. The 42-year-old hung up his gloves
earlier this month following a first-round stoppage win over
Nate
Landwehr. 

Meanwhile, Garcia is 7-4 in the UFC and currently riding a
three-fight winning streak, his longest in the promotion.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

Internationaler Kampfkunst und Kampfsport Kleinanzeiger