Jackson-Wink's Garcia tagged for Freedom 250

An Albuquerque MMA fighter has been selected to compete on the UFC-promoted, President Donald Trump-approved Freedom Fights 250, scheduled for June 14 on the White House south lawn.

No, it is not Jon “Bones” Jones.

Steve Garcia, who trains at Albuquerque’s Jackson-Wink MMA, is scheduled to face Brazil’s Diego Lopes on the widely anticipated card, to be staged in celebration of our nation’s upcoming 250th birthday.

Surprised? No one should be. Garcia (19-5) is riding a seven-fight win streak, six of those victories coming by knockout. In terms of entertainment value, he has been among the UFC’s best the past 3 1/2 years. He was awarded performance bonuses after four of those seven fights.

For Garcia, nicknamed “Mean Machine,” the slot on the Freedom Fights card is opportunity on top of opportunity: a chance to be seen by perhaps the largest audience before which he’s fought — the card is scheduled to be telecast live on Paramount+, free for subscribers to that platform — but also a golden opportunity for advancement.

Garcia is ranked ninth among challengers for the UFC featherweight (145-pound) title held by Alexander Volkanovski. Lopes (27-8) is ranked No. 2. A victory over Lopes likely would put Garcia within hailing distance of a title shot.

A phone message left for Garcia by the Journal on Monday, seeking comment, drew no response.

NO ‘BONES’ ABOUT IT: Meanwhile, Albuquerque’s Jones, the former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, had campaigned hard for a spot on the Freedom 250 card despite having announced his retirement from the sport last June.

That, UFC President Dana White has said repeatedly, was never going to happen — citing Jones’ checkered history that involved positive tests for banned substances and brushes with the law.

“Never, ever, ever, which I told you guys (the news media) 100,000 times was Jon Jones even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” White said Saturday night during a post-event news conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

White cited not only Jones’ unreliability but some physical damage incurred during his 16-year MMA career that, White said, played a role in the legendary fighter’s retirement.

BO’S A GO: Garcia is not New Mexico’s only Freedom 250 connection.

Middleweight Bo Nickal (8-1), who lived in Rio Rancho and wrestled varsity for Rio Rancho High School as an eighth-grader in 2010, is scheduled to face Philadelphia’s Kyle Daukaus (17-4) on the June 14 card.

Jason Nickal, Bo’s father and the Rio Rancho wrestling coach, took a job in Texas after the 2010 season. Bo Nickal went on to an All-America career at Penn State before signing with the UFC in 2022.

In a Zoom interview with the Journal in November 2024, Nickal shared some fond memories of his time in Rio Rancho.

“I really appreciate my time there, and I feel like it was great for me,” he said. “I learned so much and me so many awesome people.”

The Freedom 250 main event matches UFC lightweight champion IIlia Topuria (17-0) in a title defense against veteran Justin Gaethje (27-5).

A total of six fights are scheduled.

THE LOCAL SCENE: For the second time in four months, MMA cards in the Albuquerque area are going back-to-back.

On Saturday, March 21, FightWorld (Jon Judy, Tom Vaughn, Arlene Sanchez Vaughn) is staging a show at Revel Abq. The following day, APFC (Anthony Pettis) is promoting at Isleta Resort & Casino.

In November, FightWorld promoted on the 22nd, APFC on the 23rd. Both cards were well attended, as likely will be the case this month.

PICO’S RETURN: Jackson-Wink’s Aaron Pico (13-5), the victim of a stunning, spinning back elbow in his loss by first-round knockout to Lerone Murphy on Aug. 16, is scheduled to face Brazil’s Patricio Pitbull (37-8, real name Patricio Andre de Sousa Freire) on an April 11 UFC card in Miami.

The Murphy fight was Pico’s UFC debut after seven years with Bellator.

The Murphy-Pico fight was a co-main event on UFC 319. Pico-Pitbull is scheduled for the prelim portion of UFC 327.