Estevan "Steve" García Júnior (born May 22, 1992) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

currently competing in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

division of

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

. Garcia competed in Bellator's

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. 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 is derived from Ba ...

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 combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

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 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight cha ...

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 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

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 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweigh ...

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.

Legacy Fighting Alliance

After the Contender Series, Garcia fought for

Legacy Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

. 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 ''UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 169'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 27'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 29, 2020 at Chartway Arena in ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Garcia was scheduled to face Peter Barrett on August 8, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 174 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 174'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 32'' and ''UFC Vegas 6'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 8, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in ...

. However, on July 25, 2020 Gracia withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reason and he was replaced by

Youssef Zalal Youssef Zalal (born September 4, 1996) is a Moroccan mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Zalal grew up fighting other kids on the streets of Morocco. His mother put him ...

. Garcia was scheduled to face Charles Jourdain on March 13, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 187 ''UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 187'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 45'' and ''UFC Vegas 21'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 13, 2021 at the UF ...

. However, Garcia withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by Marcelo Rojo. Gracia faced Charlie Ontiveros on October 9, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 194 ''UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 194'', ''UFC Vegas 39'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 52'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 9, 2021 at the UFC ...

. He won the bout via second round technical knockout. Garcia was scheduled to face

Damir Hadžović Damir Hadžović (born August 8, 1986) is a Bosnian-born Danish mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Hadžović was born to Bosnian Muslim parents in the eastern B ...

on April 23, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 205 ''UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 205'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 63'' or ''UFC Vegas 52'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 23, 2022, at the UF ...

. The 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 Chase Alan Hooper (born September 13, 1999) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Hooper began his amateur MMA career while he wa ...

on October 29, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 213 ''UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Allen'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 213'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 71'' and ''UFC Vegas 63'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 29, 2022, at the UFC ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Garcia is scheduled to face

Shayilan Nuerdanbieke Shayilan Nuerdanbieke (born May 4, 1994 kk, Нұрданбек Сайран) is a Chinese Kazakhs in China, mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Nue ...

April 8, 2023, at

UFC 287 ''UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 8, 2023, at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, United States. Background The event marked the promotion' ...

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

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Abel Cullum Abel Cullum (born April 21, 1987 in Tucumcari, New Mexico) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former King of the Cage Flyweight Champion. Mixed martial arts career King of the Cage Cullum made his debut for the King of the Cag ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Ronnie Lawrence , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 162 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

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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