Ryan Garcia is sticking to boxing gloves for good. The unbeaten star revealed he took a grappling session for a test run and walked away with zero interest in ever stepping into an MMA cage.
According to comments discussed on the Suguru Show with Sean O’Malley and MMA Guru, Garcia admitted he was taken down and choked out by someone who wasn’t even considered elite in the grappling world, a moment that left him firmly closing the door on combat sports outside of boxing.
Former UFC bantamweight champion O’Malley spoke about Garcia’s admission with genuine respect rather than mockery. “I love that. I love that. 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.
He noted that Garcia’s honesty stood out, especially given how rarely boxers are willing to admit getting outclassed in another discipline.
The topic came up after Garcia’s comments circulated referencing O’Malley’s own well-known stance on grappling.
“I did see on Ariel he’s like, ‘How does Sean O’Malley say he says he doesn’t grapple and wrestle?’ I think it’s hilarious. I’ve said that multiple times and I’ve showed it in a couple fig hts that’s that that is very true that I do not do a wrestle,” O’Malley explained, adding that he found it funny to be referenced in the discussion.
O’Malley emphasized that grappling humbles even highly trained athletes who excel in a different discipline. “Dude, for a boxer who knocks people out, gets paid to fig ht, 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.,” he said.
Rather than viewing the experience as a negative, MMA Guru suggested it could ultimately serve Garcia well outside the ring.
“If you’re a boxer that likes to party and you know there might be guys that are trying to try you. Why not chuck in one jiu-jitsu lesson on a Sunday now and then, you know? I mean, just change it up a little bit,” Guru added, pointing to boxers like Oleksandr Usyk, who has trained in judo and combat wrestling alongside boxing.
