Legal troubles are gone, Garcia is ready for another title run

[Clark Kent]

11-18-2009 02:35 PM:Leonard Garcia won't feel fear as he walks into the cage tonight at WEC 44. After all, the WEC folks will allow him to leave whether he wins or loses. That wasn't the case a year and half ago when the Texan was facing major jail time after an arrestedfor conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Garcia said he got caught up with some bad seeds and has since been cleared of charges.

''There's that saying what don't kill you makes you stronger," Garcia told Adam Hill from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Man, I've almost been dead several times. From a stabbing to being shot to having criminal charges brought upon me, which is basically being dead if you're in prison. I faced all of these things and always come out on top and put them behind me.''

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Garcia got a title shot earlier this year against WEC feathweight champ Mike Brown, but now says there's was too much going on at the time and he wasn't ready:

''I feel like I got a title shot early on and maybe since I lost, it was premature. 'If I won, I probably would have thought it was right on time. Now I feel like I've had a bunch of good fights here. I feel like I'm one of the fan favorites. I'm really happy with the way my career is going.''​

Garcia was loose at Wednesday's workouts now that all he's got to concentrate on is fighting:

''Having the feeling of big grief lifted (off) your shoulders helps a lot. It gives you a perspective on life, and being able to appreciate life is something some people never get to do. Now I can appreciate things. I look back and say, 'Man, how could I not have been living like this?' It turned out to be a great thing for me."

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Garcia against Manny Gamburyan is the lead-in to the main tonight at WEC 44 in Las Vegas.



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Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield.