Diego Lopes made a statement on Sunday, knocking out Steve Garcia in the first round on the UFC White House card.
Lopes dropped Garcia with a left hook and followed up with punches on the ground, forcing referee Mike Beltran to step in and stop the bout at 2:42 of the opening round.
"This is unbelievable," Lopes said after the fight. He added, "The whole week I don’t believe this happening but this happened. I’m the first guy to take a great win here. I know Steve is so dangerous in the first round. Nobody can beat me … if you come in the middle of the fight, I’m sorry guys I’m knocking everybody out."
Lopes is described as a constant threat at 145 pounds and holds two losses to reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski. Garcia, who trains with the Jackson-Winkeljohn team, was unable to overcome Lopes’ early surge on this occasion.
