UFC White House: Freedom 250 won’t be the first time that
Steve
Garcia has fought outdoors.

Garcia (19-5) is scheduled to open the iconic UFC White House card
in a featherweight tilt against Diego Lopes
(27-8) on June 14. Fighters, pundits and even UFC boss Dana White
have expressed various concerns about the promotion’s first outdoor
event.

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Garcia, speaking from experience, recently listed his concerns
about fighting in the Octagon that will be set up on the South Lawn
of the White House. Garcia has fought outdoors twice in his career
before. The first time was at night, where he had to face a common
issue — bugs. Many, including White, have expressed concerns about
insects at the UFC White House event. Garcia’s first outdoor event,
being an amateur one, he also had to deal with lighting issues.

However, Garcia had to weather a more serious issue in his second
outdoor event, which was also his professional debut in 2013.
Garcia says that the cage was unbearably hot and ice had to be
repeatedly thrown on the mat as fighters were burning their feet.
The ice then had to be wiped off as fighters kept slipping. Garcia
notes that even worse was that fighters could feel their backs
burning whenever they were in the bottom position on the canvas.
Garcia is concerned about how well the Octagon will be covered at
the UFC White House event.

“I’ve fought outdoors twice… The first outdoor fight was at
night, I dealt with the bugs, it was back in my amateur days; all
the lights in the back had to get shifted forward to the Octagon,
and we had no lights in the back to warm up… But it wasn’t
terrible,” Garcia told Ariel Helwani. “The second time was
definitely hotter, probably around 85 degrees. We fought at the
State Fair grounds in Albuquerque; it was my pro debut. They had to
continue to throw ice on the canvas. That’s probably the only thing
I’m a little nervous about—how well the Octagon is covered. because
it got so hot that everybody was burning their feet. They were
dumping tubs of ice all over the canvas, and then they had to sweep
it up so nobody would slip and fall. It was a little crazy. If you
were on your back in guard or something, you were burning your
back. That’s definitely not a fun way to fight. But I’ve had a few
experiences fighting outdoors.”

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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