Leonard Garcia Aiming for UFC Return, but Can’t Look Past Nick Gonzalez at Legacy FC 23

After suffering through a five-fight losing streak, former UFC featherweight Leonard Garcia got back on track with a win in his last fight in July, and he couldn’t be more elated.

“It was a way better feeling than losing,” said Garcia with a chuckle. “Winning is everything in this sport. I don’t care if it’s the biggest show in the world or the smallest, you get your hand raised, it feels great.

“Now the thing is to get a streak going. One win is great, but two is better, and I’m looking to get a streak going.”

Garcia acknowledges that things never seem to go easy for him, as emotions got the better of him early before he rallied to a third-round knockout of Rey Trujillo at Legacy FC 21.

“I got a little emotional in the beginning due to my family being there for the first time, so I had to deal with those emotions and it kind of made me start a little flat in the first round,” he said. “But once he hit me and woke me up, it definitely went my way.”

Garcia (16-11-1) will be seeking to win his second fight in a row for the first time since 2008 when he returns against Nick Gonzalez (18-11) at Legacy FC 23 on Friday in San Antonio.

Even though Garcia has been developing his ground game with Team Alpha Male in addition to the work he put in at his regular home at Jackson’s MMA, he’s still the same blood and guts fighter at the end of the day and an all-out slugfest is always a possibility.

“There’s always going to be that option with me,” he said. “I’m always looking to see how a guy reacts to my power. In order to see his reaction, I have to land a punch and in order to do that you have to engage with him.

“I’m just that type of guy; you hit me and I’m going to hit you back. And I always like to get that last hit in.”

Garcia told MMAWeekly.com that winning is all that matters right now, as he hopes to make his return to the UFC sometime in the near future.

“Getting this winning streaking going with the UFC watching could help my homecoming back with them,” he said. “Wins are important, so if (the UFC) wants me to get another one, I will.

“Legacy’s a great company with a lot of talent for me to fight, and if I do stay for a third fight, I hope it would be against Kevin Aguilar for the title. That’s something that excites me as well. First and foremost, I’ve got to get through Nick, and once I’m able to do that, we’ll get on about all that other stuff.”