Every fighter has a story on how they became a professional mixed martial artist and Titan FC flyweight Elias Garcia has his story.
You may already know a little bit of the background of Garcia (3-0) as he trains at Roufusport in Milwaukee and is the cousin of UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and flyweight Sergio Pettis.
However, you may not know the story on how Garcia decided to become a professional mixed martial artist. While some fighters may not remember the exact moment they decided to become a mixed martial artist, Garcia remembers the moment when he made the decision to become a fighter.
“I was actually going to go to Santa Ana College in California,” Garcia told The MMA Report. “I was just thinking, ‘man I am really going to try to pretend to be a student and try to wrester right now?’ I was not to good in high school at being a student. I liked to fool around a lot when I was younger. I was just thinking, is this what I really want to do. Do I really want to do something that I am not probably going to have success in.”
“Fighting was just something — I have always been a MMA fan of fighting since The Ultimate Fighter 1. I was just like, there is an opportunity. Anthony [Pettis] said I could come out and train. Why not give that a shot? If all else fails, I can come back and go to school. That was always my initial plan. Once I got out here to Milwaukee, I just fell in love with it instantly and I never looked back.”
He made his professional debut at the end of 2013 as he defeated Joel Scholin by submission at NAFC: Unrivaled. He followed up that victory with a TKO against Chris Johnson and a decision win against Alex Figueroa. In late 2014, Garcia signed with Titan FC and he will make his promotional debut later this month as he meets Matt Schnell on the preliminary card of Titan FC 33: Night of Champions. When it comes to the fight against Schnell, he sees an opportunity and plans to make a statement.
“I see an opportunity,” he said. “He has a big fan base from being on that show Caged. I do not want to be the guy that is known that talks crap in interviews because last night I kind of went off in one of my interviews. I was getting mad that people were saying that Schnell is finishing people in the first round and all that. I brought up the guy that he fought and his record. I realized, that is not me.”
“I am not a guy that is going to go out here and try to talk bad about my opponent. He put in the work and he won that fight. Granted, the dude had whatever record he had. I do not want to say it again because I do not want to be that guy that talks crap. Matt has put in the work and when I see him, I see opportunity. He has a big fan base, big name, and it’s my turn to take him out.”
His fight on March 20 at Titan FC 33 is the biggest opportunity of Garcia’s career as this is the biggest promotion he has competed for and Schnell is the biggest name opponent of his career. Schnell was on a reality show in 2012 and has put together a record of 6-2. He wants to use this fight to show the world what he has been working on in the guy and be an eye opener for the entire mixed martial arts promotion.
“I have only fought locally my whole career and fighting someone like Matt Schnell,” Garcia stated. “He already has a name and a great fan base. Fighting on the Titan stage is definitely an opportunity. Definitely a way to tell people that I am the real deal. I am making my why through the ranks and eventually on to the UFC. I hope that is a big eye opener for people to let them know who Elias Garcia is.”