Nine-time world Jiu-Jitsu champion Gabi Garcia fights for the third time at Cygames Presents RIZIN Fighting World GP 2016, vs. professional American football player Destanie Yarbrough. The event streams live and free on The UnderGround starting at 2:00 a.m. ET on Sunday.
Garcia moved to California to develop her striking, and did some sparring sessions with the greatest female fighter on Earth, Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino.
“I was already a fan of hers even before I decided to fight MMA,” said Garcia to Guilherme Cruz for MMA Fighting. “When I got to the U.S., Cris called me and said that we were both fighting around the same day, and introduced me to her coach and called me to train together one day. She has her sparring partners at her weight and I have mine, of course, but we train together sometimes. She’s surreal. She’s a monster.”
“When I throw a jab and the guy responds, I get punched hard. When I throw a jab at Cris, she fires back with a jab, two uppercuts, and kicks. She hits as hard as a man. I hit her twice and she comes back with 10 punches *laughs* and I don’t see where they are coming from. Cris is so fast. She hits you five times, and the last one is to drop you.
“Her striking, the way he does her best every day. She’s cutting weight, not eating well, and still goes to the gym every day to work hard and takes me off the ground *laughs*. She’s the only girl that ever did that. There’s no woman in this world that can beat her. Cris is the best fighter in the world.”
“I spar with men who compete at Glory and in MMA, and I’m getting more comfortable now. I spar twice a week. I train with Raymond Daniels, one of the best at Glory, and some UFC light heavyweights. I don’t spar with Anderson Silva, but he helps me a lot saying what I’m doing wrong, giving me some advice.”
“I can’t worry about what she’s going to do against me. My coaches watched her fight and came up with a good game plan. I have to worry about what I’m going to do, and I’m confident. I won’t say I’m confident standing because it took me 20 years to accomplish everything I’ve accomplished in jiu-jitsu, so I can’t go in there wanting to stand and bang. Everything I do, it’s to use my jiu-jitsu.”
Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino fights Lina Lansberg Saturday night in the main event of UFC Fight Night 95. Gabi Garcia fights Destanie Yarbrough in the early hours of Sunday morning at the RIZIN Fighting World GP 2016.
