Estevan Garcia Jr. (born May 22, 1992), known as Steve Garcia, is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competes in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC). He has previously competed in Bellator's

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division.

Background

Inspired by his friends, Garcia initially started training mixed martial arts at Greg Jackson's satellite gym at the age of 15. He then went on to train jiu-jitsu and

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

at Luttrell's MMA before moving to Jackson-Wink MMA.

Mixed martial arts career

Bellator MMA

Garcia was expected to make his Bellator debut against Shawn Bunch at Bellator 97 on July 31, 2013. However, Garcia pulled out of the fight due to injury and was replaced by Russell Wilson. The bout with Shawn Bunch was rescheduled for Bellator 105 on October 25, 2013. Garcia defeated Bunch via TKO in the third round. After signing a new deal with the promotion, Garcia faced Cody Walker at Bellator 121 on June 6, 2014. He won the fight via KO just 39 seconds into the first round. Garcia faced Kin Moy at Bellator 123 on September 5, 2014. Garcia won the fight via split decision. Garcia faced Eduardo Bustillos at Bellator 143 on September 25, 2015. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Garcia faced Ricky Turcios at Bellator 151 on March 4, 2016. He lost the fight via split decision; the first loss of his professional MMA career. Garcia faced Ronnie Lawrence at Bellator 162 at October 21, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Garcia was expected to face Joe Taimanglo at Bellator 174 on March 3, 2017. However, the bout was removed from the fight card after Taimanglo missed weight. Garcia faced veteran Joe Warren at Bellator 181 on July 14, 2017. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. On February 20, 2018 it was announced that Bellator had released Garcia from the promotion.

Contender Series

Garcia competed on Dana White's Contender Series 25 in August 2019. While he defeated Desmond Torres via TKO in the first round, he was not awarded a UFC contract after he had missed weight.

Legacy Fighting Alliance

After the Contender Series, Garcia fought for

Legacy Fighting Alliance The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merg ...

. He defeated Jose Mariscal via TKO in the second round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Garcia made his promotional debut against Luis Peña, replacing Alex Muñoz on February 29, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 169. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Garcia was scheduled to face Peter Barrett on August 8, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 174. However, on July 25, 2020 Garcia withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reason and he was replaced by Youssef Zalal. Garcia was scheduled to face Charles Jourdain on March 13, 2021 at UFC Fight Night 187. However, Garcia withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by Marcelo Rojo. Garcia faced Charlie Ontiveros on October 9, 2021 at UFC Fight Night 194. He won the bout via second round technical knockout. Garcia was scheduled to face Damir Hadžović on April 23, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 205. The fight was scrapped after visa issues on the part of Damir. Garcia faced Hayisaer Maheshate on June 11, 2022 at

UFC 275 ''UFC 275: Teixeira vs. Procházka'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 12, 2022, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Background A UFC Light Heavyweight Champi ...

. He lost the bout after getting knocked out in the first round. Garcia faced Chase Hooper on October 29, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 213. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. This fight earned him first '' Performance of the Night'' award. Garcia faced Shayilan Nuerdanbieke April 8, 2023, at UFC 287. After being knocked down, Garcia won the fight via TKO in the second round via body kick and then ground and pound. Garcia was scheduled to face Sean Woodson on August 5, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 50. However, Garcia pulled out due to an injury. Garcia was scheduled to face Melquizael Costa on December 2, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 52. However, the bout was scrapped when Garcia withdrew the day before due to an illness. The pair was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 233 on December 9, 2023. Garcia won the fight via knockout in round two. Garcia faced Seung Woo Choi on July 20, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 60. He won the fight by technical knockout in the first round. This fight earned him a '' Performance of the Night'' award. Replacing

Calvin Kattar Calvin Kattar ( ; born March 26, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and owner of MMA promotion ''Combat Zone''. He currently competes in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Figh ...

, Garcia faced Kyle Nelson on September 7, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 242. At the weigh-ins, Nelson weighed in at 148.5 pounds, two and a half pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Nelson was fined 20 percent of his purse, which went to Garcia. Garcia won the fight by technical knockout via elbows and punches in the first round. This fight earned him another '' Performance of the Night'' award. Garcia was scheduled to face Edson Barboza on February 22, 2025, at UFC Fight Night 252. However, Barboza withdrew from the fight due to an injury and the fight was scrapped. Garcia is scheduled to face

on July 12, 2025 at UFC on ESPN 70.

Championships and accomplishments

** Performance of the Night (Three times) **Tied for fourth most consecutive knockouts in UFC history (5)

Mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Steve, Jr. Living people 1992 births American male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Albuquerque, New Mexico Mixed martial artists from New Mexico Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu 21st-century American sportsmen