Diego Lopes opens the card at UFC Freedom 250 against Steve Garcia. Lopes' two UFC losses have come exclusively against elite competition — featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and current No. 1 contender Movsar Evloev.
Diego Lopes and Steve Garcia have been booked to open the main card at UFC Freedom 250, with the featherweight contest serving as the first fight of the evening on June 7, 2026.
Lopes enters the bout as one of the more compelling storylines in the featherweight division. His two losses inside the Octagon carry significant weight given the opposition: featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who holds a 28-4 record, carries a pound-for-pound ranking of third in the world, and lands a remarkable 5.99 significant strikes per minute at 57 percent accuracy, and current number-one contender Movsar Evloev, the undefeated Russian from American Top Team who sits at 20-0 and averages an aggressive 4.78 takedowns per 15 minutes.
Garcia, nicknamed "Mean Machine," represents a capable and dangerous opponent to place at the front of the card. The 34-year-old southpaw out of Jackson-Wink MMA carries a 19-6 record and is among the more active strikers in the division, landing 5.39 significant strikes per minute at 49 percent accuracy. Standing six feet tall with a 75-inch reach, the American has the physical tools to make life uncomfortable for anyone across from him.
Why it matters
- A win for Lopes over an experienced Garcia would reinforce his standing as a legitimate featherweight contender despite his two losses.
- Garcia's high striking output sets up an intriguing pace-setting battle to open the event.
- The framing of Lopes' losses against elite-level opponents only — a champion and an undefeated top contender — gives the matchup an added layer of divisional context.
Alexander Volkanovski vs Movsar Evloev
See the AI pick, live odds and the full matchup breakdown
