John Garza hopes UFC fan support continues – all the way to custom 'Mowgli' shorts

John Garza didn't win at UFC 329, but was it really a loss?

Given a tough debut assignment, not to mention on short notice, Garza (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) gained a lot of fans Saturday when he put forth a competitive effort against unbeaten Farid Basharat (16-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

"It's mixed emotions just because I really know we could've won that fight," Garza told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. "I definitely could've done a lot of things better. As far as the result, we kind of stole the show. I got to show everybody who I am, what I'm about, and I gained a lot of fans. I think it was worthwhile for sure. It was a win. We lost, but it was a win."

Often times, fighters are inundated with mean tweets for critics and Instagram DMs from anonymous handicappers, whose bet slips did not cash. But Garza said it's been nothing but love from the online MMA community – oh, and also memes.

"I had a feeling that it was going to be that way and that people would enjoy the fight," Garza said. "But honestly I didn't know it would be to this extent. I always imagined my debut would be like I'd fight and then nobody would know me still for a while. But I guess that's what happens when you make your debut on a (Conor) McGregor card.

"... The memes have been hilarious. That's my favorite part – the memes. There's this one where it was in our faceoff, right, he posted the picture of our faceoff. I'm kind of smiling, and Basharat is talking to me. He says, 'This twink just mogged Basharat,' or some sh*t."

Garza, 23, doesn't fit the usual MMA fighter mold in physical form or in spirit. He watches fights a little here and there, but also finds passion outside the gym through things like drawing, video games, and anime. His appearance earned him the nickname "Mowgli" from his coach. It's something he fully embraced to promote himself on the regional scene, and something he hopes he can get the UFC (and Venum) to get behind down the line.

"Ooh, wait until I get some hype around my name and some fame," Garza said. "I need (orange) tiger shorts. I need the UFC to get us some tank tops, man. I don't want to wear no sleeves man. I've got a lot of stuff I need to ask for. Hopefully I get some pull soon."

Garza lost to Basharat by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27). There are a lot of things he thinks he could've and should've done better, even given the late-nature circumstances of the bout. Garza said if fans like what they saw Saturday, just wait for his sophomore appearance, which he hopes will be this fall.

"I could mention so many things. I should've been popping my jab more, moving my head off the line. I threw a little bit too much steam on my punches so they were a little slow sometimes. Those are just a couple of things. I could name maybe 50 more. ... Man, honestly, next showing I plan on being a completely different person. I don't know. I'd say maybe that times 20.

"... I don't know anything as far as when I could potentially be fighting again. That's sort of to be determined. My coaches were talking and we were maybe thinking about if there's something in September or a pretty quick turnaround. ... September sounds good. I'm down for whenever, honestly. I'm ready to go. I'm ready to go, as soon as possible."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: John Garza hopes UFC fan support continues – all the way to custom 'Mowgli' shorts