Pablo Garza (born September 16, 1983) is a former American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who fought in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division. He has competed for the UFC, WEC, and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck.

Early life

Garza was born in

Wasco, California Wasco (formerly, Dewey and Deweyville) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley, in Kern County, California, United States. Wasco is located northwest of Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield, at an elevation of . The population was 27,047 at the 20 ...

, on September 16th, 1983, to parents who both emigrated from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. 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 A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, as a

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

. He eventually earned a degree in exercise science and personal training at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

. 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, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

, as well as the Academy in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota with the likes of Jacob Volkmann, Nik Lentz, Pat Barry and coach Greg Nelson. Garza is a predominantly ground-based muay thai fighter, where he has managed to secure several

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

victories. A

-based Mexican American from Grafton, North Dakota, Prior to joining the UFC, Garza appeared for promotions such as

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

and Brutal Fight Night.

The Ultimate Fighter

Garza then signed with the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

to appear on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck''. In the debut episode, Garza lost to touted prospect Michael Johnson in a two-round decision.

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. The fight, which was predominantly stand-up based, saw Garza break the nose of Joplin, before taking control of the fight. Garza then faced Aaron Steele on September 11, 2010. In preparation for the fight, Garza visited Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, training with

Sean Sherk Sean Keith Sherk (born August 5, 1973) is a retired American mixed martial artist and former UFC Lightweight Champion. Sherk competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and was one of the first combatants to have been a championship competit ...

, Jacob Volkmann and Greg Nelson. Garza went on to win the fight via TKO (punches) late in the third round.

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. He lost the fight via

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. Garza made his UFC and featherweight debut against Fredson Paixão at The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Finale. 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. Garza defeated Yves Jabouin on April 30, 2011 at UFC 129 via first round submission due to a flying triangle choke. 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. He lost the fight in the second round after tapping out to a d'arce choke. Garza next faced

Dennis Bermudez Dennis Ross Bermudez (born December 13, 1986) is a retired American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC. Bermudez has been a professi ...

UFC on Fox 3 ''UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 3'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 5, 2012 at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Background Dennis Hallman was expected ...

on May 5, 2012. 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. However, Garza was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by

Rani Yahya Rani Ahmad Yahya (born September 12, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and BJJ practitioner. He won the 66 kg division of the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in April 2007. He currently fights in the Bantam ...

. Garza faced Mark Hominick on November 17, 2012 at UFC 154. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Garza faced Diego Brandão on April 6, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV 9. He lost the fight via first round submission and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Post UFC

Shortly after his release from the UFC, Garza relocated to

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It was expected that he would receive offers from the elite European MMA promotions such as Britain's

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish-owned mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under ...

and BAMMA or Sweden's Superior Challenge. However, Garza has not competed since his release from the UFC.

Championships and accomplishments

**UFC.com Awards ***2010: Ranked #5 Knockout of the Year ***2011: Ranked #3 Submission of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

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Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

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Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

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East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an inner suburb, inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 Unit ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–2 , Dustin Poirier , Submission (D'Arce choke) , UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. dos Santos , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:32 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Yves Jabouin , Submission (flying triangle choke) , UFC 129 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:31 ,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Fredson Paixão , KO (flying knee) , The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:51 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–1 , Zhang Tiequan , Submission (guillotine choke) , WEC 51 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 ,

Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county located in the United States, U.S. Colorado, state of Colorado. It has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sect ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , William Joplin , Decision (unanimous) , The Cage Inc.: Battle at the Border 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Hankinson, North Dakota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Nate Bell , Submission (punches) , KOTC: Ice Age , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:00 , Mahnomen, Minnesota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Jayson Fuentes , Submission (rear-naked choke) , EB: Beatdown at 4 Bears 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:54 , New Town, North Dakota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Caleb Wolff , Submission (armbar) , Brutaal Fight Night: All American Cage Fighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:37 ,

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck (; from 1872 to 1873: Edwinton) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat, seat of Burleigh County, North Dakota, Burleigh County. It is the state's List of cities i ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Mike Davis , Submission (guillotine choke) , KO: Productions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:38 ,

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...

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References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garza, Pablo Mixed martial artists from North Dakota American mixed martial artists of Mexican descent Featherweight mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people 1983 births American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Fargo, North Dakota People from Wasco, California Sportspeople from Kern County, California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters People from Grafton, North Dakota