Pablo Garza (fighter)

For the Mexican Revolution era General, see Pablo González Garza.
Pablo Garza
Born Pablo Garza
September 16, 1983
Wasco, California, United States
Other names The Scarecrow
Nationality American
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st)
Division Lightweight (formerly)
Featherweight
Reach 73.0 in (185 cm)
Fighting out of Fargo, North Dakota, United States
Team Academy of Combat Arts
Rank Purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu[1]
Years active 2007–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 16
Wins 12
By knockout 2
By submission 7
By decision 3
Losses 4
By knockout 0
By submission 3
By decision 1
Draws 0
Other information
University University of North Dakota[1]
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Pablo Garza (born September 16, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing 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

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

Garza trains out of Dylan Spicers' MMA gym the Academy of Combat Arts in Fargo, ND, as well as the Academy in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota with the likes of Jacob Volkmann, Nik Lentz, Pat Barry and coach Greg Nelson.[2] Garza is a predominantly ground based muay thai fighter,[3] where he has managed to secure several submission victories.[2] A Fargo, North Dakota-based Mexican American from Grafton, North Dakota,[4][5]

Prior to joining the UFC, Garza appeared for promotions such as King of the Cage and Brutal Fight Night.[2]

The Ultimate Fighter

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

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.[2] 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.[2]

World Extreme Cagefighting

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

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

Shortly after his release from the UFC Pablo relocated to Oslo, Norway. Although currently unsigned, It is expected he will receive offers from the elite European MMA promotions such as Britain's Cage Warriors and BAMMA or Sweden's Superior Challenge.

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 12–4 Diego Brandão Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi April 6, 2013 1 3:27 Stockholm, Sweden
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 12–3 Mark Hominick Decision (unanimous) UFC 154 November 17, 2012 3 5:00 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |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
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |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
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 11–1 Yves Jabouin Submission (flying triangle choke) UFC 129 April 30, 2011 1 4:31 Toronto, Ontario, Canada Submission of the Night
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |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.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 9–1 Zhang Tiequan Submission (guillotine choke) WEC 51 September 30, 2010 1 2:26 Broomfield, Colorado, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 9–0 Aaron Steele TKO (punches) Crowbar MMA: Fall Brawl September 11, 2010 3 2:57 Fargo, North Dakota, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |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
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 7–0 Nate Bell Submission (punches) King of the Cage: Ice Age March 5, 2010 1 1:00 Mahnomen, Minnesota, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |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
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |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
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 4–0 Mitch Jackson Submission (triangle choke) Max Fights 6 August 29, 2009 1 0:53 Fargo, North Dakota, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |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
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 2–0 Tyler Larson Submission (kimura) Max Fights 4 July 19, 2008 1 3:38 Fargo, North Dakota, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 1–0 Mike Davis Submission (guillotine choke) KO: Productions August 11, 2007 1 0:38 Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "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.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Pablo Garza". sherdog.com. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Spike TV unveils TUF 12 cast: Pablo Garza". sherdog.com. August 3, 2010.
  4. ↑ Pablo "The Scarecrow" Garza - Official UFC® Fighter Profile
  5. ↑ Garza back and fighting at UFC event - The Forum, Fargo, ND
  6. ↑ "Meet the cast for "The Ultimate Fighter 12," field includes 28 lightweights". mmajunkie.com. August 3, 2010.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "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.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "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.
  12. ↑ http://mmajunkie.com/news/21626/the-ultimate-fighter-12-finale-bonuses-garza-mckenzie-garcia-phan-earn-30k-awards.mma
  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.
  16. ↑ "UFC on FOX 4 adds Grispi-Garza". mmajunkie.com. 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. 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.

External links