Steve Garcia wasn’t shocked that he was able to get a quick finish over David Onama at UFC Vegas 110.
Garcia was headlining his first UFC card against Onama in a pivotal featherweight fight. Entering the bout, Garcia was a small betting favorite, but he made quick work of Onama, scoring a TKO win just 3:34 into the first round.
“Obviously, a little surprised when in my head I built him up to be a monster. I’m not surprised, though, because in the back I felt strong, my hands felt very heavy, I felt like Francis Ngannou for a moment,” Garcia said to BJPENN.com.
Although Garcia got the TKO win, Onama did protest the stoppage, feeling it was early.
However, Steve Garcia said Herb Dean gave multiple warnings to Onama to defend himself, which he didn’t do, so he felt the stoppage was more than fair.
“I did bang him up pretty good,” Garcia added. “After the fight, he was complaining to Herb (Dean) about why he wasn’t given enough warnings. He said it three times; if he has to say it more than that, maybe you aren’t able to defend yourself. It seemed like a good stoppage to me. There are a couple of moments when I thought he would stop it, but he didn’t. Herb is such a good referee. In a way, he saved Onama, because I wasn’t going to stop.”
Steve Garcia calls out Lerone Murphy
Not only did some think the fight was stopped early, but after the event, the betting scandal took center stage.
Although Steve Garcia was disappointed the focus wasn’t on his win, he does make it clear that Onama wasn’t part of it, as he could tell by how hard he was punching.
“They start throwing Onama under the bus, like you guys are something else,” Garcia said. “That dude did try to hit me; I have a black eye. I have a cut on my eye; he hit me. At the end of the day, that is out of my control. If someone is getting accused of doing something like that, that’s a pretty bold statement. I kind of read a little bit about it, but it doesn’t bother me. I did my job.”
With Steve Garcia getting his hand raised at UFC Vegas 110, his goal is to fight Lerone Murphy in a main event in February.
“I’d like February, that’s probably a good timeframe for me. … If I could pick, it would be Lerone Murphy. If I could push for that, that is what I would push. Only one person can fight Volk, so y’all need to fight other people, and I’m one of those guys you are going to have to face,” Garcia concluded.