Gabi Garcia is a multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, partly through her technique (she is a black belt, after all) and a lot since the biggest weight class is a nebulous 60+ kg, and Garcia is around 6’2″ and usually weights 107kg (That’s over 235 pounds for us non-metric people). Having gotten bored with demolishing everyone in BJJ competitions, Garcia has stated a desire to move into mixed martial arts competition. In an interview with Tatame that was helpfully translated by Bloody Elbow, Gabi said:
“I want to figh MMA now. I don’t know when I will fight on a GI again. I’m unmotivated, not because I think I’m invincible, but we need to find another challenge. Many people is not fighting the absolute class, focusing on the weight classes, and I need another goal in life. If I am able to get down my weight, and if UFC or other events begin to have bigger weight classes, I will get down my weight as much as possible. Now I am going to train to defend my titlle in the ADCC.”
To be fair, when Gabi’s competition is so tiny, it’s probably easy to feel invincible. So, just who is crazy enough to take a fight with the gigantic Garcia (Who said she’s looking to cut down to 205 pounds for her fight)?
Look no further than the magical land of Japan! Long time fighter and frequent joshi crossover, Megumi Yabushita. Yabushita is a perfect storm of unfortunate opponent, as she’s 42 (to Garcia’s 28), will be giving up one foot and one hundred pounds, and best of all, Yabushita is on a six fight losing streak.
Yabushita does have experience fighting huge opponents, though. She took the 6’3″ 330 pound Russian judoka Svetlana Goundarenko to a decision and won the dang fight! Garcia might be in trouble.
