Steve Garcia reflects on White House loss, son's tears

Steve Garcia says a conversation with his son after losing to Diego Lopes at UFC White House in June left him heartbroken.

Garcia, who had not lost in four years entering the bout, saw a strong opening round unravel when Lopes caught him in a second-round brawl on the South Lawn. The featherweight told MMA Fighting the fight went sideways when he abandoned his technical game plan and started trading shots. He landed off balance after absorbing a clubbing forearm, tried to reset, and got dropped. Garcia said he thought he was fine for two or three seconds before the finish came.

Garcia's son reaction and White House delays

When Garcia returned to New Mexico, his young son asked if he had won. The boy had never seen his father lose. Garcia told him no, and his son started crying. "It broke me," Garcia said, per MMA Fighting. He reminded his son what he tells him after video game losses: try again. "Exactly, so daddy has to try again," Garcia recalled saying.

Garcia also dealt with unusual fight-week disruptions. Weather forced the UFC to delay the card's start time, and Garcia was told to warm up, then sit idle for thirty minutes, then rush to the cage with barely enough time to break a sweat again. He noted that he and Lopes both dealt with the same delays as the opening bout.

Garcia also fought without head coach Greg Jackson, who sat out the White House event. Garcia said Jackson's absence left a tactical gap that longtime coach Mike Winkeljohn could not entirely fill. He has never lost with both Jackson and Winkeljohn in his corner together.

Garcia returns to sparring this week. He said he tasted life at the top of the featherweight division and wants more of it.

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• MMA Fighting — Steve Garcia reflects on UFC White House loss and heartbreaking conversation with his son afterwards: ‘It broke me’