Steve Garcia believes he and Diego Lopes are exactly the type of fighters who will set the tone for UFC White House on Sunday night. Known for his aggressive style and willingness to embrace a firefight, Garcia expects the opening moments of the card to capture everyone’s attention as he looks to score the biggest win of his career against one of the featherweight division’s top contenders.
“Setting the pace with me and Diego Lopes is the way to start this card off. For me, I prefer to be the first or last on this type of event,” Garcia told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.
“All eyes will be on us, and you guys are going to see why.”
Garcia (19-5) said a major part of his preparation for Lopes has involved studying film and identifying the subtle habits that can make a difference on fight night. With plenty of footage available on his opponent, Garcia and his team have focused on recognizing patterns, tendencies and the situations where Lopes is most likely to react in predictable ways.
“As we break everybody down we definitely try to pick up on the tendencies and triggers and just different mindsets on who the opponent is that they’re fighting. He has a lot of tape so you can kind of do that,” he said.
Garcia spoke highly of his friend Josh Hokit outside of the spotlight, describing him as a genuinely good person despite the larger-than-life personality fans may see during fight promotion.
While Garcia admitted Hokit’s entertaining side might not align with the more traditional martial arts values he grew up around, he also acknowledged that adapting to the modern era of combat sports is part of the business. In Garcia’s eyes, Hokit has found a way to embrace the entertainment aspect of the sport without losing sight of who he is as a person.
“He knows how to act really well, maybe? The Josh I know is a good dude man. He really is,” he said.
“Right now, enjoy his entertainment. Enjoy his performances. I know right now the shift in promoting has changed. I kind of come from like a little bit more of an honorable type of background. Martial arts used to be kind of like that. Now it’s come to an entertainment spectacle. I’m not hating on it. You got to adjust to the times, and I think he’s done it well.”
Garcia laughed when asked how he planned to approach the matchup, offering a response that perfectly captured both his confidence and willingness to embrace chaos inside the Octagon. While there is undoubtedly a detailed game plan in place, Garcia made it clear that when the cage door closes, all bets are off.
“I’m just going to close my eyes and just start swinging,” he said.
Watch the entire media day scrum with Steve Garcia above. He faces Diego Lopes at UFC White House on Sunday night.
