Rafa Garcia emerged from a gruelling battle against Jared Gordon as the winner by stoppage at UFC Fight Night 259.
After a competitive lightweight contest for more than 12 minutes, Garcia (18-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) dropped Gordon (21-8 MMA, 9-7 UFC) with a hard punch then swarmed with more strikes and elbows on the ground for a bloody TKO finish at the 2:27 mark of Round 3.
The victory, which took place on the Noche UFC main card from Frost Bank Arena in San Antonio, Texas, was the high point of Garcia’s octagon tenure so far, and you can watch the replay of the final sequence below (via X):
Following the fight, an elated Garcia said he was proud to deliver such an entertaining bout
“I think I did (put on a show),” Garcia said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “Mexican Independence Day gives you more power in there. I just wanted to show everybody what the Mexican spirit was all about.”
Up-to-the-minute Noche UFC results:
- Rafa Garcia def. Jared Gordon via TKO (elbows) – Round 3, 2:27
- Kelvin Gastelum def. Dustin Stoltzfus via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Alexander Hernandez def. Diego Ferreira via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:46
- Santiago Luna def. Quang Le via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:48
- Dusko Todorovic def. Jose Medina via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:21
- Joaquim Silva def. Claudio Puelles via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Tatiana Suarez def. Amanda Lemos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jesus Aguilar def. Luis Gurule via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Sedriques Dumas vs. Zachary Reese declared no contest (accidental low blow to Dumas) – Round 1, 0:51
- Alden Coria def. Alessandro Costa via TKO (injury) – Round 3, 0:47
- Montserrat Rendon def. Alice Pereira via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
- Daniil Donchenko def. Rodrigo Sezinando via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:27
