Steve Garcia feels ‘disrespected’ ahead of UFC Freedom 250

Steve
Garcia has a big fight coming up this weekend—and a similarly
big chip on his shoulder.

“Mean Machine” (19-5) is set to face two-time former title
challenger Diego Lopes
(27-8) in the opening bout of
UFC White House: Freedom 250 on Sunday at the White House.
Heading into the biggest fight of his career, the 34-year-old New
Mexico native claimed that he doesn’t receive due credit for the
body of work he has put in. Despite riding one of the longest win
streaks in the entire division at seven straight—six of them by
knockout—Garcia lamented his lack of recognition, telling Ariel
Helwani:

“I do still feel disrespected. I do feel like people don’t count me
seriously, but I finally get a platform where I can go out there
and continue to prove otherwise. I have seven knockouts in the UFC,
eight wins… I’ve knocked out several guys, and, bro, I don’t even
have a Topps card. Everybody on the White House card pretty much
has a Topps card… I got a big chip on my shoulder for everybody
doubting me, I’ll tell you that much… it’s not like people are
calling me out. There’s a reason for that. I bring it in. It’s
gonna be one of the hardest fights you ever fight when I’m in there
with you.”

UFC Freedom 250 takes place Sunday, June 14, on the south lawn of
the White House in Washington, D.C. The seven-fight card is
headlined by a lightweight title unification bout between Ilia
Topuria and Justin
Gaethje, while Alex
Pereira and Ciryl Gane
are scheduled to fight for the interim heavyweight belt in the
co-main event.