After suffering a second round KO loss at UFC Freedom 250, Steve Garcia has released a statement.
Number 9 ranked lightweight contender Steve Garcia was the first of 14 fighters to walkout onto the South Lawn at UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday night.
‘Mean Machine’ was hoping to extend his seven fight win streak against former featherweight title challenger Diego Lopes, who was looking to get on track after his recent loss to Alexander Volkanovski.
And the exciting Brazilian did just that when he scored a brutal KO over the American in the second round.
Garcia breaks his silence after disappointing loss
Garcia started off the fight extremely well and it looked as though he was going to go on to pull off the upset.
The 34-year-old was causing Lopes problems with his length and range, as he landed a few heavy shots from the outside.
But then midway through the second round, Lopes did what he does best and bit down on his gum shield and started a fire-fight with Garcia, landing a few heavy shots before dropping him and getting the finish.
“Sunday night didn’t go as planned, but I’m blessed to be a part of UFC history,” Garcia said in a statement on his Instagram.
“God is still king. I’ve fallen before, and if I’m gonna lose to someone, at least it was to the class act of Diego Lopes. I’m not far off – I will be back. To all my haters, enjoy your celebration while you can. Y’all remember what happened the last time I lost,” he continued.
Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images
Garcia’s last loss was back in 2022 when he was knocked out by Maheshate.
‘Mean Machine’ was also without his longtime head coach Greg Jackson for the biggest fight of his career thus far, as the legendary MMA coach didn’t attend the event due to ‘personal reasons’.
2026-06-16 22:30:00
