UFC Fight Night results, highlights: Steve Garcia demolishes David Onama for quick first-round finish

If the UFC featherweight division is looking for a new contender, veteran Steve Garcia just put his name in the hat. 

The 33-year-old Garcia extended his win streak to seven, including six by stoppage, with a ferocious first-round TKO of David Onama in a battle of top-15 ranked fighters at 145 pounds on Saturday. The fight served as the main event of a UFC Fight Night card from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. 

Garcia (19-5), a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, made quick work of his first headlining opportunity by jumping all over Onama (14-3) early in this matchup of southpaws with volume punching and combinations.  

"Again, I said this before, my dad [trainer Steve Garcia Sr.] told me to be violent in here, so that's what he got," Garcia said. "My dad asked me, so I tried to deliver."

Garcia briefly dropped Onama early with a clean left hand and never backed off applying pressure as his wobbled foe struggled to take shelter. A pair of uppercuts briefly dropped Onama a second time along the cage before Garcia backed him up again with kicks to the body. 

Shortly after, Garcia scored a third knockdown with more clean punches and jumped all over the fallen Onama, a 31-year-old from Uganda, with ground-and-pound until referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 3:34 of Round 1. 

"In here, this is kill or be killed. That's, at least, how I do it," Garcia said. "I was telling [Onama] inside the cage, 'I'm going to get you so you better be ready.' I don't get paid by the hour, I get paid by the minute so I make sure I finish my opponents if it presents itself."

Garcia's win streak comes after having lost two of his first three UFC fights. Not only does Garcia have 15 knockouts in 19 pro wins, he recorded the eighth first-round finish of his 12-year career. 

"I'm a kid from Albuquerque who didn't have a lot going on in his life," Garcia said. "I had a prayer when I was 15 years old and today was one of my answers. I wanted to make something of myself. I came to UFC and went on this long fight streak. I asked God to make me something and told him I would do the work. He's the most consistent thing in my life and I couldn't do this without him."

Onama snapped a four-fight win streak as he suffered his first defeat since an all-action majority decision loss to Nate Landwehr in 2022.

After the fight, Garcia looked to make a big splash by calling out an elite name and former champion from one division above.  

"I'm going to throw a little curveball in there. I want the Rocky Balboa story and I want Max Holloway for the BMF title," Garcia said.