Gabi Garcia’s MMA career was always going to be a bit of a circus. The 6’2”, 226 lb multiple-time Jiu Jitsu world champion was in a class of her own on the mats. In MMA she’s been nearly impossible to find opponents for.
At RIZIN 14, Garcia faced a woman many thought would be her toughest challenge to date. 5’10” Brazilian kickboxer Barbara Nepomuceno. Garcia tapped her with a keylock halfway through the first round.
What followed was both all too strange and all too familiar. Former competitive Judoka, women’s MMA pioneer, and longtime pro-wrestler Shinobu Kandori charged the ring looking to take some of Garcia’s spotlight and goad the giant Brazilian into a fight.