Ryan Garcia

Ryan Garcia stands as one of professional boxing's most electrifying young stars, carrying a professional record of 25-2 (1) as of August 2026. His title journey has spanned two weight classes, beginning with the WBC Interim Lightweight World Championship, which he captured in 2021 — a significant milestone that nonetheless fell short of undisputed world championship status. Garcia completed his ascent on February 21, 2026, when he defeated Mario Barrios to claim the WBC Welterweight World Championship. That welterweight crown represents his first full world title and cemented his standing among boxing's elite at 147 pounds.

Garcia's introduction to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu came in late 2022 or early 2023, when he stepped onto the mat for his first documented BJJ class alongside Rener Gracie. The session — documented across several combat sports outlets and the Gracie Breakdown YouTube channel — gave Garcia a formal grounding in jiu-jitsu fundamentals under one of the art's most recognized instructors. By Garcia's own account, his curiosity about grappling grew in part from his business partnership with Conor McGregor through Mac Energy, a connection to the MMA world that sharpened his interest in what happens once a fight hits the canvas.

A Candid Account

In an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Garcia offered a vivid and self-aware account of a subsequent grappling session that left a lasting impression. The wrestling exchanges went reasonably well — but once the action moved to ground grappling, the dynamic shifted entirely. Garcia described the sensation of being controlled as feeling like "a spider monkey was on my back," a helplessness that no amount of elite striking ability could resolve. He was caught in an armbar and tapped, and by his own admission, repeated attempts to improve his position never yielded better results.

Humility Over Ego

Garcia's response to the experience was one of genuine humility. He chose to tap rather than risk injury, explaining simply: "I'm not trying to go to sleep." He freely acknowledged the gap between his skill set and the demands of jiu-jitsu, telling the audience, "You guys will always be able to choke me out," and estimated that five years of dedicated training would be the minimum required before he could begin to hold his own on the ground. Despite the humbling nature of the experience, Garcia expressed broad enthusiasm for the grappling world — "I love MMA, man. I love the UFC. I love everybody a part of it" — and left the door open on a potential future venture into grappling with characteristic restraint: "Maybe one day, Ariel. Maybe one day."

Garcia's grappling adventures drew commentary from former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley, who addressed the topic on his official YouTube channel. O'Malley's take was pointed but not without nuance — he described Garcia as having been submitted by someone "who wasn't even that good," framing the outcome as a sharp reminder of how quickly elite combat sports credentials dissolve in an unfamiliar ruleset. "He came out there a real boxer, said he's tried grappling, he got smoked by somebody who wasn't even that good. They took him down, choked him," O'Malley said, his characterization broadly consistent with Garcia's own candid account.

O'Malley was careful, however, to acknowledge the courage it takes to step into that discomfort. "Dude, for a boxer who knocks people out, gets paid to fight, to go out there and be humbled by someone who probably wasn't very super skilled — I don't know who he went with… They could have been really skilled" — a concession that softened the edge of his initial framing. The exchange also prompted O'Malley to reflect on his own relationship with grappling, where he has been open about minimizing wrestling in his game. Noting that Garcia had asked how O'Malley could claim not to wrestle, O'Malley called the irony "hilarious," adding, "I've said that multiple times and I've showed it in a couple fights that that is very true that I do not do a wrestle."

As of August 2026, Garcia has not competed under any grappling or MMA ruleset, with his athletic identity remaining firmly rooted in professional boxing.