One of the biggest champions in women’s jiu-jitsu history, Gabi Garcia, made a successful transition to mixed martial arts in 2015, defeating fellow newcomer Lei’d Tapa via first-round knockout at Rizin. But like in her grappling career, wins are followed by criticism.
With more than 10 gold medals in major grappling competition, including IBJJF world (six) and pan-american championships (three) and one ADCC title, Garcia was criticized for being way bigger than her opponents and smartly using that as an advantage, but in MMA, critics came in a different way.
In 2015, Garcia decided to join Kings MMA in California and prepare for her MMA career.