BJJ world champion Gabi Garcia postpones MMA debut

Jiu-jitsu star Gabi Garcia won’t be making her mixed martial arts debut this month.

The nine-time jiu-jitsu world champion and two-time ADCC gold medalist signed a contract with Brazilian promotion Jungle Fight to fight on March 28 in Sao Paulo, but decided to postpone her MMA debut to a future date.

Jungle Fight president Wallid Ismail confirmed the news to MMAFighting.com.

Garcia was originally set to compete for the first time in MMA on Dec. 23 in Tokyo, Japan, but Real Fight failed to find an opponent for the Brazilian.

A black belt under Fabio Gurgel, hasn’t lost a jiu-jitsu or grappling match since 2009, Garcia plans on cutting down to 185 pounds for her first MMA bout.

Jungle Fight 76 takes place March 28 in Sao Paulo and marks the promotion’s debut on network television in Brazil. The fight card will be headlined by Elizeu Zaleski vs. Jose Diaz for the welterweight title, and features bantamweight champion Jonas Bilharinho trying to win another title, as he takes on Fabiano Nogueira for the 145-pound championship. Women's strawweight champion Erika Almeida will also put her title on the line that night, facing Tania Pereda.