Rafa Garcia embracing UFC dark side: 'I've got to be mean'
Lightweight veteran Rafa Garcia explains what's been the key for his latest UFC run.
LAS VEGAS – Rafa Garcia has flipped the bad boy switch on, and that's what's been responsible for his latest winning streak inside the octagon. Garcia (19-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC), a veteran of the UFC lightweight division, picked up his third consecutive win in the UFC this past Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night 274 at the Meta Apex. He did so by defeating Alex Hernandez (18-9 MMA, 10-8 UFC) in a unanimous decision.
For Garcia, this latest run, which stands as the best run of his UFC career, has been triggered by embracing a darker side of himself. "My mentality's changed a lot right now," Gracia told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC Fight Night 274 post-fight press conference. "Every time I go in there, I've just got to be that mean person, you know?
I feel like a lot of people, when I'm in the gym and everything, tell me, 'Oh, you're so nice. ' Like, 'Rafa's such a nice guy. ' But I had to turn that switch up and every time I go in there, I've got to be mean – the meanest person ever.
I don't talk a lot. I don't talk a lot of crap. But when it's time to show, I feel like I show.