Gabi Garcia’s latest RIZIN bout ends in instant no-contest after eye poke

Gabi Garcia’s combat sports career has hit a couple of minor speed bumps lately. the 6’ 2” multiple time world BJJ champion left her grappling roots behind to embark on a full fledged fighting career back in 2015, signing with RIZIN Fighting Federation. She’s gone 4-0 since making the jump, with two TKOs and two submissions.

But if 2015-16 was all success, 2017 has been little short of failure, even if Garcia still has yet to officially lose a fight.

Back on July 7th, Garcia took her first Shoot Boxing Match, against longtime journey-woman MMA and kickboxing veteran Megumi Yabushita. The fight was called off in round 1, ruled a no-contest due to illegal soccer kicks from Garcia. Just a few weeks later, and Garcia’s return to MMA hasn’t gone much better.

Only 16 seconds into the first round of a bout against Oksana Gagloeva, Garcia stuck her out-stretched hand into Gagloeva’s face, poking her in the eyes and resulting in an immediate end to the contest. You can see video below:

For her part, Garcia seems to be claiming that no foul was committed and that doctors cleared Gagloeva to continue in the bout.

“It was not (the tip of) my finger,” Garcia told MMA Fighting. “I defended with an open hand, but closed it for the punch. She has both eyes hurt. The doctors authorized her to come back but she didn’t want to. Coward.”

“You could see in her eyes that the show ‘ate’ her. She could have came back, but it was an easy way to run.”

MMA Fighting also reports that Garcia will apparently appeal the no-contest ruling. She’s hoping to return to competition in October, but dismissed the idea of a rematch with Gagloeva, reiterating her feelings that Gagloeva is a “coward,” and that Gagloeva “ran” from the fight.