Steve Garcia is heading into a pivotal matchup with Diego Lopes at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 in Washington, D.C., and he’ll be doing it without longtime coach Greg Jackson in his corner.
Garcia has trained extensively with Jackson for this fight, but the Jackson-Wink MMA co-founder will not corner Garcia or Josh Hokit for their fights at the White House due to personal reasons.
"Greg has been in my corner for the last several years, especially in the UFC, along with prior to that. But I've also fought without him in my corner for many years, too. So, it's not like it's unusual. But he's been very active in this training camp. We meet every single day and have multiple privates all the time in preparation for this fight. Yeah, we'll be prepared," Garcia said.
Lopes currently holds the No. 2 spot in the UFC featherweight rankings, a position Garcia will attempt to take at UFC Freedom 250.
"The opportunity at hand is something that could definitely elevate me, and I get the opportunity to rise to this challenge and to do it on the White House is something special. So, I'm excited about that part," Garcia added.
