Rivalries: Steve Garcia

Steve Garcia has begun to inspire some genuine intrigue in the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division.

The Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn protégé will attempt to strengthen his foothold at 145 pounds when he collides with Kyle Nelson in a featured UFC Fight Night 242 attraction this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Garcia, 32, enters the cage on the strength of four consecutive victories, all of them finishes. He last fought at UFC on ESPN 60, where he needed just 96 seconds to cut down two-time Top Fighting Championship titleholder Seung Woo Choi with punches on July 20.

As Garcia moves ever closer to his looming showdown with Nelson, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Joe Warren

Relentless takedowns, suffocating top control and effective ground-and-pound carried the former two-division Bellator MMA champion to a unanimous decision over Garcia in a Bellator 181 bantamweight showcase on July 14, 2017 at the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. All three cageside judges scored it 30-27. Garcia had no answers for the onetime NCAA All-American wrestler. Warren executed takedowns in all three rounds, bottled up the prospect on the canvas and piled up points with short punches and elbows. The self-professed “Baddest Man on the Planet” played it safe and smart, never straying far from his approach. He dodged a kimura attempt from Garcia in the second round and countered his standups by moving to the rear waistlock position and firing knees into his legs.

Desmond Torres

Garcia put away “The Tyrant” with punches and elbows in the first round of their bantamweight feature during Week 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series on Aug. 20, 2019 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Torres succumbed to blows 4:35 into Round 1, suffering his first setback in almost two years. Garcia, who missed weight for the match by 3.5 pounds, exploited his physical advantages against the much smaller Team Oyama export. He cracked Torres with a left uppercut, followed with a partially blocked knee strike and swarmed the 22-year-old, ultimately forcing him to the mat. From there, Garcia uncorked punches and elbows until the job was done. His inability to make weight cost him a UFC contract and saw him return to the regional scene for some fine tuning.

Charlie Ontiveros

After a failed Octagon debut against Luis Pena sent him back to the drawing board, Garcia put away “The American Bad Boy” with punches in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 194 lightweight prelim on Oct. 9, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Garcia brought it to a close 1:51 into Round 2. Ontiveros had the “Mean Machine” reeling early in the first round, where he staggered the Bellator veteran with an axe kick and decked him with a left hook. Garcia did not go away. He struck for a pair of takedowns, settled in the north-south position and snuck in an elbow strike that opened a deep gash near Ontiveros’ right eye. It was a harbinger of what was to come. Garcia moved into top position again at the start of the second round, climbed to full mount and unleashed elbows before sealing the deal with a burst of punches and hammerfists.

Maheshate Hayisaer

The Enbo Fight Club prospect leveled Garcia with a one-punch knockout in the first round of their lightweight confrontation on the UFC 275 undercard on June 12, 2022 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. The end came 74 seconds into Round 1. Hayisaer remained calm under fire, sat down the New Mexican with a right hand and fought through a subsequent clinch along the fence. He created some separation and walked Garcia into a short counter right hook that separated the Bellator veteran from his senses. It sent a rush of adrenaline through the crowd. Garcia has not lost since.