Despite being cut from the UFC yesterday, it doesn’t look like featherweight brawler Leonard Garcia will be without a home for long.
MMA Fighting reported on Thursday that “Bad Boy” is considering an offer from the World Series of Fighting while he has ruled out Bellator completely as a company he’d like to compete for.
"The good offers have come from World Series of Fighting," Garcia stated.
"I believe Bellator made an offer, and I haven't asked to hear it yet because my intentions are to come back to the UFC. I feel if I go to Bellator, I'll never come back. That's one of things where I'm not sure that I'm ready to hear an offer from them."
Garcia cited well-publicized contract disputes between former Bellator champions Zach Makovsky and Eddie Alvarez as to why he wasn’t interested in working for the promotion.
The former WEC title challenge noted that with a Bellator contract, a return to the UFC did not seem feasible.
Garcia, a staple at Greg Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, also brought to light the fact that he is going to California’s Team Alpha Male to improve his grappling chops.
Team Alpha Male includes noteworthy team members such as former WEC champ Urijah Faber, The Ultimate Fighter runner-up TJ Dillashaw and former UFC flyweight title challenger Joseph Benavidez.
"Just being the new guy in the room is going to help me a lot, because it's something different. It's a style I've never seen," Garcia said.
"Their style is unfamiliar to me. I don't know all their tricks like I do at Jackson's. Like, we know each other so well at Jackson's, and I think that's caused me to become flat. I talked it over with both camps and they're both okay with it. I feel like this is a move that should've been a long time ago, but it takes situations like this to make it happen."
Garcia also makes mention that he made the decision to switch camps after talking to his cousin, Team Alpha Male head coach Duane Ludwig, about his situation.
Currently in the roughest stretch of his career amidst a five-fight losing streak, could the 33-year-old become relevant again after making a run on the regional scene?