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Things went south in a hurry for Leonard Garcia.
After taking a split decision win over Nam Phan back in 2010, "Bad Boy" went on to lose his next five fights, which eventually resulted in his release from UFC. For some fans, the cut was a long time coming, as Garcia hasn't won a fight convincingly since defeating Jens Pulver by technical knockout in November of 2008.
Hoping to revive his career, Garcia told MMA Fighting that he has set his sights on a move to Team Alpha Male, where he hopes to hone his skills, especially in the wrestling department:
"I'm going to go out to Team Alpha Male for a little while. My cousin Duane Ludwig is out there, and I talked it over with Greg (Jackson). Greg said, ‘Yeah, the problem is guys that can take you down and hold you down.' And now I'm going to go to a whole team of guys who are really, really good at that."
With Garcia's recent run of form, it was obvious that a change was necessary, and perhaps Team Alpha Male will provide all the right ingredients. In addition to a team filled with top-notch wrestlers including the likes of Urijah Faber, Chad Mendes, and Joseph Benavidez, they have recently acquired the coaching expertise of Duane Ludwig, who made news this week for his interesting approach to studying film.
Garcia also mentioned that he has received offers from both World Series of Fighting (WSOF) and Bellator MMA, but he insists he did not want to hear the Bellator option as he intends to return to UFC as soon as possible.
With honed striking skills and a better wrestling game, it isn't impossible for Garcia to still make a splash, even at the age of 33. He has a lot to work on, but maybe Team Alpha Male holds the solutions to his current problems.
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