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Steve Garcia thinks Alexander Volkanovski is no longer the same fighter that he used to be.
Garcia is scheduled to fight Diego Lopes at UFC White House on June 14. Garcia wants to call for a title shot against Volkanovski if he gets past Lopes. Garcia believes Volkanovski should ideally retire now. However, if Volkanovski doesn’t retire, “Mean Machine” vows to make the 37-year-old hang up his gloves if they meet inside the Octagon. While Garcia isn’t looking past Lopes, he sees chinks in Volkanovski’s armor now.
“I’m calling for that strap,” Garcia said on the "Smash Cast” podcast. “Give me that strap, that’s what I want. Honestly, I feel like Volk should retire. Because if he doesn’t, I’m gonna retire him… But again, I got a huge tall task ahead of me. I’m not gonna look past Diego Lopes, that would be stupid to do it. But in my head every time I see Volk, I’m like, ah, he’s not the Volk of old. And there’s ways to beat this guy. And I think if I can get to him I can do it.”
Known for his unusual knockout power at featherweight, Garcia (27-8) is on a seven-fight winning streak with six finishes. Meanwhile, Lopes (19-5) has sandwiched a win over Jean Silva between two title losses against Volkanovski in his last three bouts.
Volkanovski (28-4) defended the featherweight title five times in his first run before falling to Ilia Topuria in 2024. The Australian won the vacant title against Lopes after Topuria moved up to lightweight. Volkanovski most recently defended his title in a rematch against Lopes at UFC 325 this past January.
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Garcia is scheduled to fight Diego Lopes at UFC White House on June 14. Garcia wants to call for a title shot against Volkanovski if he gets past Lopes. Garcia believes Volkanovski should ideally retire now. However, if Volkanovski doesn’t retire, “Mean Machine” vows to make the 37-year-old hang up his gloves if they meet inside the Octagon. While Garcia isn’t looking past Lopes, he sees chinks in Volkanovski’s armor now.
Championship Dreams
“I’m calling for that strap,” Garcia said on the "Smash Cast” podcast. “Give me that strap, that’s what I want. Honestly, I feel like Volk should retire. Because if he doesn’t, I’m gonna retire him… But again, I got a huge tall task ahead of me. I’m not gonna look past Diego Lopes, that would be stupid to do it. But in my head every time I see Volk, I’m like, ah, he’s not the Volk of old. And there’s ways to beat this guy. And I think if I can get to him I can do it.”
Known for his unusual knockout power at featherweight, Garcia (27-8) is on a seven-fight winning streak with six finishes. Meanwhile, Lopes (19-5) has sandwiched a win over Jean Silva between two title losses against Volkanovski in his last three bouts.
Volkanovski (28-4) defended the featherweight title five times in his first run before falling to Ilia Topuria in 2024. The Australian won the vacant title against Lopes after Topuria moved up to lightweight. Volkanovski most recently defended his title in a rematch against Lopes at UFC 325 this past January.
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