Rafa Garcia thanks Cub Swanson for 'mean' mentality

Coach Cub Swanson flipped a mental switch in Rafa Garcia. 

Garcia took on Alexander Hernandez  (18-9) in a lightweight clash at UFC Fight Night 274 in Las Vegas. While Hernandez showed immense grit, Garcia battered him increasingly as the fight progressed to earn a unanimous decision win. 

Garcia (19-4) subsequently thanked his coach, Swanson, who is running things at Team Bloodline in Costa Mesa, California, since his retirement from professional competition. Swanson urged Garcia to get “mean” before heading into the final round against Hernandez. Garcia revealed that the UFC veteran has been instilling the “mean mentality’”in him for a while. While Garcia is naturally a “nice” person, he credits Swanson for teaching him to be “mean” inside the Octagon. Not a man of many words, Garcia stays far away from trash talk or other antics outside the Octagon. Garcia says that Swanson advised him to stay true to his nature instead of trying to pull off a facade. With trash talk not being his forte, Garcia plans to sell himself by his performances.

Being Authentic

“Just the mentality Cub put me into, to get into that ‘mean’ mentality,” Garcia said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “He told me before my fight, ‘You gotta be mean for 15 minutes. No more nice Rafa. You’re nice in training, but you gotta be mean right here. You gotta go in there and be a badass... I might not talk a lot. Cub always told me, ‘Don’t try to be someone that you’re not.’ When I go in there, I’m gonna sell myself by giving that show, that fight, that war that you want to see.” 

Swanson (31-14) was carried over from the WEC to the UFC. “Killer” acquired a wealth of experience, having fought in the UFC since 2011, beating elites like Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira, among others. The 42-year-old hung up his gloves earlier this month following a first-round stoppage win over .