Steve Garcia Opens Up on Talk with Son After White House Defeat

Steve Garcia (19-6 MMA, 8-3 UFC) is six weeks removed from his bout at UFC Freedom 250 on The White House grounds in Washington, DC. The event, part of the Freedom 250 celebrations inside the United States of America, saw a seven-fight card take place in a rare Sunday night showcase for MMA's No. 1 promotion.

Garcia's opponent that late spring Sunday evening was Diego Lopes (28-8 MMA, 7-3 UFC) inside the fabled Octagon. Although a brief weather delay knocked UFC Freedom 250 off of its scheduled 8 pm ET start that night, the event proceeded as scheduled with Steve Garcia vs. Diego Lopes being the first fight of the show.

Steve Garcia was on the receiving end of a second-round knockout by way of left hook and ground and pound shots from Lopes. The latter's knockout victory brought an end to the former's seven-fight winning streak.

Steve Garcia on Initial Weather Delay

Recently, Steve Garcia was interviewed by MMA Fighting. He discussed what it felt like to have to pause his pre-fight routine due to inclement weather in the vicinity of The White House.

"We were supposed to be starting right on time," Steve Garcia began. "That's what they told us. I had warmed up and everything as needed. I felt amazing, then right in the middle of my warm-up, they're like 'We're going to cut it. We've got to do a 30-minute delay.'"

Once the threatening weather passed The White House, Steve Garcia resumed his warm-up, only to be told that fighter walkouts were about to take place ahead of the first fight of the evening.

"I haven't even broken a sweat again", he recalls of being informed that the card was starting shortly after continuing his final preparations. "It's kind of crazy. It is what it is. I'm not going to complain about it because Diego had to deal with the same thing I did."

Steve Garcia Discusses Conversation with Son About Loss after Returning Home

As previously mentioned, Steve Garcia dropped the opening bout of UFC Freedom 250 that Sunday night via second-round knockout. Upon returning to his family after the card, he had to break the news to his young son that he'd lost the fight.

"When I got home, my son asked me 'Daddy, did you win?'", Steve Garcia continued. "I hadn't lost in four years, so he doesn't know what it's like for Dad to lose. I was like 'No, Dad didn't win.' He started crying. It broke me. It hurt me."

Garcia, whose last defeat in MMA came in June of 2022 during UFC 275 from Singapore Indoor Stadium, likened his defeat to a video game session with his son.

"I'll tell him if you lose, because sometimes I'll go in on him," he said, "I'm like 'You need to lose. If you lose, what does Daddy always tell you?' He said 'Try again.' Exactly, so Daddy has to try again."