Leonard Garcia has called time on his combat sports career.
Competing for the first time since a TKO defeat to Jim Alers in July 2019, Garcia took on Joe Elmore in the BKFC 16 headliner on Friday night in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Both fighters came to brawl, but it was Garcia who did the more effective work as the former UFC veteran came away with a bloody but comfortable win after outpointing Elmore over five rounds with the judges scoring it 49-46, 50-45, and 50-45.
Bloody Good Main Event#BKFC16 pic.twitter.com/croDAgh582
— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) March 20, 2021
Garcia Retires With A Win
While he felt he had plenty more left in the tank, Garcia decided to retire after the fight.
“I’ve got an important decision to make and it’s a hard one,” Garcia said (via Bad Left Hook). “When I signed with BKFC, I signed a three-fight deal, and I made a deal with my wife, I made a deal with my job, and I made a deal with God. I said I was gonna be three and done, but my deal with God was to be the No. 1 guy when I left.
“That’s why I took the fight with Joe Elmore. I wanted to prove to the world I was the No. 1 fighter at 165 when I retired.”
As a result, Garcia, 41, retires with a 2-1 record in bare knuckle boxing and a 18-13-1 record in mixed martial arts. He notably holds wins over The Korean Zombie and Jens Pulver.
You can find the full BKFC 16 results below:
- Leonard Garcia def. Joe Elmore via unanimous decision
- Reggie Barnett Jr. def. Demarcus Corley via TKO (corner stoppage) – Round 4, 2:00
- Arnold Adams def. Bobo O’Bannon via KO – Round 1, 1:58
- Kaleb Harris def. Noah Cutter via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 1, 2:00
- Scott O’Shaughnessy def. Melvin Guillard via TKO – Round 1, 1:20
- Jason Fish def. Adrian Miles via TKO – Round 3, 1:20
- David Diaz def. Spencer Ruggeri via majority decision
- Brad Kelly def. Elvin Brito via unanimous decision
- Zion Tomlinson def. Tyler Hill via TKO – Round 1, 1:40
- Ryan Jones def. Eric Thompson via TKO (injury) – Round 2, 2:00
