Rafa Garcia 'not taking a step back' vs. Grant Dawson in UFC Fight Night 244 return from knee surgery

LAS VEGAS – Rafa Garcia has no intention of folding to the relentless grappling pressure of Grant Dawson at UFC Fight Night 244 – even if he is coming off a significant knee surgery.

Garcia (16-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) will return to the octagon for the first time since April 2023 on Saturday when he meets Dawson (21-2-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) in a lightweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN+). “Gifted” underwent surgery in July 2023 for a torn ACL and PCL, and has been working hard toward his comeback ever since.

“For me, (the recovery) was a little bit difficult,” Garcia told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “Putting the brakes on me was a little bit hard. Being in bed until 12 every day, that’s not something I do. I usually wake up in the morning at 5 a.m., go walk around, feed the animals and do something. When I was in bed, I was like, ‘Damn, I can’t do nothing.'”

Garcia was eventually able to return to his feet in a full-functioning manner and get back into training. The next step was accepting a fight, and he did that against Dawson, who has lost just once in 11 octagon appearances.

Dawson is a tenacious wrestler who has landed at least one takedown in all but one of his UFC fights, so Garcia knows what he’s getting this weekend. He is ready to thwart takedowns with the help of his surgically repaired knee, and then he’ll be looking to get the stoppage win.

“I feel like it’s a great opponent for me,” Garcia said. “Grant Dawson is knocking at the top 15. I think he’s going to try to take me down and walk back. But I’m not taking a step back. I’m getting in his face, making him back up, and I’m getting that finish.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.