In August, Turlock’s Brandon Bettencourt was ready to put his undefeated 4-0 professional mixed martial arts record on the line at the first ever Motown Throwdown in Modesto. After his opponent pulled out right before weigh-ins due to medical reasons, he had to wait even longer to step back into the cage, but that time has finally come.

Tonight, the 34-year-old Bettencourt will face off against Paul Garcia (2-2) in a catchweight contest of 140 lbs. on the latest King of the Cage fight card at the Gold County Casino in Oroville.

King of the Cage is one of the most popular MMA promotions on the west coast and puts on fight cards almost every month, having previously hosted UFC stars like Sean Strickland, Uriah Faber, Diego Sanchez, Bobby Green, Billy Quarantillo and Alex Perez. And while there are some big names that have come out of the promotion, when doing research on Garcia, not much information is available. Bettencourt believes that the lack of tape and background on a fighter can be a challenge, but that there are no challenges he can’t conquer.

“The promoter just told me he's a striker. He's kind of like a brawler-striker guy,” Bettencourt said. “I’ll try to feel it out on feet and maybe take them down, mix it up. That's how I do it.”

On top of the lack of familiarity between the two men, Bettencourt shared that he has had to deal with multiple injuries throughout his training camp.

“It’s honestly been a pretty tough camp,” he said. “I’ve had a few injuries, but hey, I feel rested, recovered and ready to go.”

Another circumstance that Bettencourt has had to deal with was the long layoff of almost a full year, having last competed in February of 2022. Nevertheless, it still won’t be the longest of his MMA career, having dealt with a nearly four-year layoff between his last fight and his penultimate match in March of 2018 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I hadn’t really realized my last layoff was that long, but since I’ve had the longer layoffs, I don’t think it should have any effect,” he said. “The layoff isn't a big deal to me I prepare myself like all the time. I'm helping people train and I have fights fall through sometimes. It’s all a bit different one when the lights are on, but I'm confident and excited.”

The fight card will begin at 7 p.m., though gates will open at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at KingOfTheCage.com/shows. Tickets will be sold up until showtime pending availability and venue capacity. Fans must be 21 years or older to attend.

All the action will also be available on television on the MavTV channel. MavTV is channel 214 on DirecTV, 361 on Dish Network, 746 on Xfinity, 837 on Spectrum and is available on most streaming providers.

“I'm always hoping for a finish, that's for sure. I'm not trying to go the distance. I'm going to do my best, go in there and try to break him,” Bettencourt. “I’d like to thank like all my family and friends that are coming out and all my sponsors. We’re going to get that W.”