MIAMI – Steve Garcia beat Shayilan Nuerdanbieke with a second-round knockout Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 287 at Kaseya Center in Miami.
Take a look inside the fight with Garcia, who won for the third time in four fights, all of which have been by knockout.
Steve Garcia vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
Result: Steve Garcia def. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke via knockout (body kick, punches) – Round 2, 0:36
Updated records: Garcia (14-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC), Nuerdanbieke (39-11 MMA, 3-2 UFC)
Key stat: Garcia has knocked out his opponent in his past six wins dating back nearly four years.
Garcia on the fight's key moment
“I saw that coming. My coaches saw that coming. We kind of talked about it before the fight. We saw what might be there, and that was one of them. We just had to just set it up. Yes, (the body shot was planned).”
Garcia on mounting a comeback to win
“You’ve just got to kind of let what happened happen, and, you’ve just got to run with the punches, literally. I got caught. I think it was right hand. I don’t (know). I was being dumb. I guess my head was there. Once we got down, I was able to kind of just clear the cobwebs and just kind of work from there. (He’s a) tough kid – very strong. I knew he was going to be strong. I didn’t expect to get hit with that shot, but I just knew.
“As long as I get back up to my feet, I always have a chance. I always have a chance, even from the bottom. You’re always going to be in an uncomfortable position with me. I’m going to try to hit you wherever I can, and I think that that was kind of bothering him a little bit. I want to kind of just beat you everywhere. You may have hit me, but I’m still here and I’m still punching you in the face. So that’s kind of where I went with it.”
Garcia on what he wants next
“I set up a cruise for my wife – she’s sacrificed a lot – for her birthday in September, so we’re going to do that. If we want to get (a fight) before that, maybe in August, I’m down. If not, it’s going to have to wait until afterwards. We’re going to the Bahamas. That was our honeymoon, so now we’re going to go and we’re going to go back, kind of, but just on a cruise way.”
To hear more from Garcia, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.
