Steve Garcia aims to dethrone and retire Alexander Volkanovski
· Yahoo Sports
Steve Garcia wants to prove that UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is no longer the same fighter.
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After an impressive seven-fight winning streak, Garcia (19-5 MMA, 8-2 UFC) draws former title challenger Diego Lopes (27-8 MMA, 6-3 UFC) at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 from the White House in Washington, D.C. (Paramount+).
If he can get past Lopes, Garcia has his sights set on Volkanovski, who's coming off a definitive second title win over Lopes at UFC 325.
"I'm calling for that strap," Garcia said on Smash Cast. "Give me that strap, that's what I want. Honestly, I feel like Volk should retire because if he doesn't, I'm going to retire him. That's what's going through my head right now.
"But again, I've got a huge, tall task ahead of me. I'm not going to look past Diego Lopes. That would be stupid to do it, but in my head, every time I see Volk, I'm like, he's not the Volk of old. He's not, and there are ways to beat this guy, and if I can get to him, I can do it."
Volkanovski's only UFC losses have come to current welterweight champion Islam Makhachev twice and lightweight champion Ilia Topuria. "The Great" was able to rebound from back-to-back knockout losses against Makhachev and Topuria with two-straight wins over prolific finisher Lopes.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Steve Garcia's goal is to retire UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski