Steve Garcia UFC Vegas 97 Post Fight Interview

[Music] hello well congratulations how are you feeling after that performance I feel relieved I'm just I can breathe uh blessed thankful grateful happy uh I'm I've been I'm just tired I'm tired but I'm happy that I got the win we got a job done today and uh it's going to be nice just take a second when you say relieved is that a normal feeling or was there something special going into this fight that that was on your shoulders I was I was mainly just fighting a lot of um mentally like I just needed some some some rest uh I really put myself to the grinder especially in training camp um I tried to go above and beyond I try to like almost torture myself in a sense uh outside of just going to classes and stuff it's never enough so I try to do the extra stuff and uh it definitely catches up to you you can't do that for very long so I had to really pick and choose what I was trying to do and there was a couple times where like Greg and W like n you need to kind of just you know relax you don't need to go as hard you know today or whatever the case is we were a little bit like more fine-tuned and it was kind of nice there was a little bit change of of pace uh as far as that goes cuz I'm know I'm normally just ball to the wall every single class but you know there was a couple moments where you know I talked to Greg and Greg's like you know what man he you don't need to go you don't need to Grapple these last couple rounds you know that hard and uh unusual for me but it was much much needed so uh yeah man just kind of going through like that barrier trying to like push through um you know to to to get to this point um it's nice to come out on top come out with the victory uh like I said I come in here to kill I don't I don't come in here to pter patter like that's not me like if you guys haven't known already I come in here violently did the fight go the way that you had anticipated it going no no no uh I wanted to punch him in the face pretty bad uh especially after him missing weight the way he kind of did and he just didn't really like seem own up to it a little bit I was kind of not happy about that but at the end of the day my job is to go out here win uh went decisively and I think we did that going to that that weight Miss um do you feel like there needs to be harsher punishments or what are your thoughts on on when opponent misses a weight it's kind of like a a Nicki situation because there are people that really really try like I'm not saying that like I've missed weight before um I've never missed weight in the UFC but um when I miss we I was practically like having to be like walked onto the scale like kind of like uh I don't know I don't know what that gentleman's name that was like on the scale and he was like rickety that shows like he's trying his hardest that you know he tried to make the way you know what I mean I didn't I didn't feel that necessarily for my opponent he was walking around just doing his thing and I was like man like I you know I came here to fight ultimately like it doesn't matter I came here to fight I came here to beat him and we did that so ultimately that's what happens but it just it it it's it's kind of a like a weird situation cuz some people really really try and they try to make it to that very end but it becomes very very dangerous uh for all of us you know this is a very dangerous sport um and it's always a fight before the fight that makes it even that much more uh dangerous so um I understand people taking like extra precaution um so yeah I'm not want to really say that you know he should or shouldn't have or whatever but it's uh it's kind of a weird situation you mentioned kind of needing a break does that mean we aren't going to see you the rest of the year or or was that more of a yeah I mean right now I'm kind of leaning towards a no there the only one I I and I've been saying this the only one that I probably consider is MSG you know I'd love to fight there uh but you know I'm sure they'll go there again so if it doesn't happen this time you know I'm sure I can make my way into another card hopefully uh you know that's over there but yeah right now I don't really have any plans to do something you know anytime soon do you think you did enough to get a bonus that's not for me to make that call I hope so I mean do you think I did enough I mean I hope I hope so I think that this card should be like everybody deserves a bonus all it looks like there's been some good fights wild it looks like there's been some good fights I'm going to keep you know trying to make them um we'll see man we'll see I'm glad I don't have to make that call thank you just pay everybody a small a small piece exactly why not you mentioned going into the weigh-ins you know they they recently changed it where everybody has to weigh in in that first hour do you like it like that or did did that change anything for you or did you typically already go in like you didn't need that second hour I didn't need the second hour actually was the first one like there yeah uh but I I don't think that that's like um it's it's hard cuz you got to wake up at like you know some of us got to wake up at 400 in the morning to start the weight cut so having that little extra time does help some of us you know what I mean I think my last fight you know what I mean I had I had to go into the second hour it just is what it is and it makes it it makes it a little bit more tough and I understand like the UFC is UFC the protocols are the protocols I get it you you know you guys make the rules um we don't have to necessarily like the rules but we just understand them and I think if you abide by them it is what it is uh but truly I do think that you know that second hour would would help some some people for sure and I don't know if you had any sort of frustration when he initially took your back and then you able to kind of reverse out of and then you start dropping the elbows it almost seemed like you were kind of pissed off at him for for trying to take your back a little bit um what was your initial thoughts when he did take take your back were there any kind of not that were you were ever worried but did you know that that he put himself in a bad position that you were able to kind of reverse and and and eventually get to the Finish from that I was more pissed off at myself like I was like God stupid Steve like dummy like why why they I like he had my back I know exactly what to do you know when he has my back he tried to get the figure four like I stopped that I just knew I had to get the two-on one I tried to find that he was strong you know like I knew he was going to be strong I just knew it was going to I was going to take like an extra step to get to where I needed to get to um um and then finally like I was like all right like he he he did piss me off in there I was like the hell with this like I'm I'm going to get him you know what I mean so got out reversed it and uh then I was able to get to work yeah and some of those elbows were nasty I don't know if that I don't know if that's the kind of thing you're able to practice in in the camp leading up to it but I mean they were very sharp elbow is that something that you that you sort of tuned up for this fight or is that just something you work on in general if you come to Greg Jackson's Tuesday and Thursday class at Jackson win Academy you will you will have a uh a day and again you're you're considering you're continuing your run of not making it to the third round you're you're getting another finish I I think the last time that we saw you go into the third round was I think the the a decision loss or something along those lines but you have a knack of getting fights done early is that something that you even consciously think about or is just that's just your fight style that the fights tend to either end in the first or second it kind of seems to be in just ending sooner um I felt like the second round was like my sweet spot for a minute but uh yeah man I like I said I trained to go three rounds as hard as possible and like my coaches make sure that like I'm ready for that so like I'm I'm I'm confident that if we go into the third round I'm fine that was actually the game plan for this fight going into uh you know the fight with Nelson this guy I mean he's strong he's a strong guy to begin with he didn't missed the weight I know he's a little bit stronger than he usually is and um I was like all right so then we're just going to just you know we're going to kind of drag it out a little bit and we're just going to piece him up for for three rounds and then hopefully finish him in the third round but um once I'm in there like I can feel you I I we have this presence we have this energy that we share you know that you don't really share with other people and um I don't know I felt like when I spun it on him he just not that he broke but he just was like he's like oh dang like that's that's not good you know what I mean and I I know that's but some people they just like it's fine like you're just another day I'm going to get up all right he's SP me it's fine I'm going to I'm going to use a cage or whatever I'm going to get up he didn't have that motive like it was like damn it you know what I mean like that really like hit something you know deep down so we capitalized on it and I mean I know you said you want to kind of take the little bit of a mental break how long do you give yourself before you actually go back and like watch tape is that do you distance yourself immediately from the fight when you when the fight's done do you just take some time where you don't even think about the the recent fight you just go do all the other kind of things or do you actually dial up the tape on Monday and take a look at it and start thinking about what you did no man there's this thing called social media and it just freaking you let them do it for you nuts man it like just notification notification notification uh but now sometimes my coaches will pull it up in the in the in the on the way back home or to the hotel or whatever and you kind of watch it and stuff and like oh man like you don't you don't remember half the things that you did in there so it's kind of cool but as far as dissecting it uh it just depends so like this after after my last fight against Troy uh I just hopped on a treadmill that Monday and I put it on ESPN plus cuz I was like I just don't remember anything and I'm my biggest critic that's also why I don't like to put it on too much but I know I was getting ready to well I wasn't I didn't know I was getting ready to but I just had this feeling I did have this feeling I was like I'm probably going to get back in there probably soon and I just wanted to see what they would probably see when they fought me so I was like critiquing myself and uh I kind of figured Nelson would try to throw a kick you know little low low uh L cakes and stuff like that just cuz Troy landed that but uh it didn't it didn't pan out out so it's all good and I know the fight just happened but you know when you go back on Monday there is there anything that's sticking in your head already from this particular fight that you're like man I want I got to really work on this um or was it just that initial back tap you're like I can't let that happen it was like I'm I'm more upset that like I fell over I don't like did I not have my feet underneath me like that's my biggest question right now that's only it's like irritating me like in the back of my head but um everything else you know Greg called it out you know two onone when ready we're you know reverse it uh everything happened you know just get my get you know get my get my butt out you know and uh get my under hooks keep them on the ground don't let him up you know that type of thing and those literally pretty much his words I just listen to him what's it like working with Jackson it's it's the funnest thing ever I love it it's uh you got honestly all right you have the two most like realest dudes in the gym and they call themselves good cop and bad cop Mike is the is the bad cop and Greg is the good cop but man they definitely know how to just like operate someone's Corner they know how to operate a gym they know how to they they understand the the the meaning of teamwork and they know how to work well together and uh I'm blessed to have them in my corner and so as everybody else in my gym so uh we're all grateful at at uh Jackson wiek Academy that's awesome congrats on the victory thank you thank you this