Diego Lopes kicked off the UFC Freedom 250 card with a brutal knockout in the second round over Steve Garcia. The Brazilian fighter struggled early on but found an opening and finished the fight seconds later.
Lopes came into this fight with a lot of weight on his shoulders. The two-time title challenger needed a win to keep his eyes on the gold in the near future. Garcia looked to expand his eight-fight winning streak and beat one of the elites in the division. Unfortunately for Garcia, he will need to climb the rankings again.
Banger To Start The Event
Lopes opened with a high kick, but Garcia wasn’t impressed and kept pressuring forward. He landed a hard punch, but Garcia kept pressuring and landing calf kicks. Lopes looked hesitant and tried to keep a distance. Garcia tried to land some wild shots, but Lopes kept moving out of the way. The American fighter was landing more shots in the first round and was more active than his Brazilian opponent, Lopes.
LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus!
[ UFC Freedom 250 Presented by @Cryptocom & @RamTrucks ]
Also, in the second round, Garcia’s confidence kept growing. He kept pressuring Lopes, who, for some reason, wasn’t able to let his hands go. Garcia charged at Lopes, and that wasn’t a smart thing to do. Lopes landed a devastating left hook that wobbled Garcia. Lopes smelled blood and knocked Garcia down. The Brazilian ended the fight with vicious ground-and-pound and won by knockout. Garcia looked great, but Lopes got the final word with an amazing finish.
UFC Freedom 250
Main Card
- Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje
- Ciryl Gane def. Alex Pereira via TKO (punches) – R2, 1:27.
- Sean O’Malley def. Aiemann Zahabi via TKO (punches) – R2, 4:02.
- Josh Hokit def. Derrick Lewis via TKO (punches) – R2, 4:09.
- Mauricio Ruffy def. Michael Chandler via TKO (punches) – R1, 4:29.
- Bo Nickal def. Kyle Daukaus via TKO (punches) – R1, 4:34.
- Diego Lopes def. Steve Garcia via KO (punches) – R2, 2:42.
Diego Lopes Changes Everything With One Punch and Finishes Steve Garcia