Steve Garcia made it 7 wins in a row at UFC Vegas 110. He took the fight to David Onama, finishing the Ugandan fighter in the opening round of their main event fight. While it was a moment of triumph for Garcia, it was equally a sad one because he did not have his friend, who had promised to be in his corner, at the Apex. The 33-year-old would go on to reveal that his friend, Charlie Krik, was gunned down for sharing an opinion that someone did not like.

“I just want to say I was supposed to have a friend here that was, I mean, I had a friend here, and he got killed a couple of weeks ago,” Steve Garcia stated during his post-fight Octagon interview. “What I will say is he told me he was going to be here tonight. Three weeks later, from that conversation, he got gunned down just for an opinion he had, man.”

Steve Garcia would send a message to the UFC fan base around the world, calling for a more cooperative and open-minded society, which is something that the United States of America represents. “No matter what you believe, left, right, right or wrong, whatever you feel like, man, everybody should be able to go home at the end of the day, be with their babies, be with their wives. We’re America, let’s be better. So, let’s act better. So, God bless the Charlie family,” he added.

Kirk and Garcia’s acquaintanceship goes back at least a year. Back in September 2024, Kirk had written on X, “Met this patriot last week at an event in Albuquerque. He said if he won his UFC bout, he’d give me and DJT a shout out in the post match interview. True to his word, here it is! What an honor…. God bless Steve Garcia @MeanMachine505. Give him a follow! Total warrior.”

After Kirk’s tragic passing, Garcia penned down an emotional tribute, writing, “My heart, amongst others, is heavy with sadness. The world lost a real one today. He was a man for God, this nation, and his family. I spoke with him a few weeks ago about him even attending my next fight. My prayers and thoughts are with his family. Rest easy to my fellow friend and warrior.”

Steve Garcia may have gotten the $50k bonus for his win, but it’s not something he’ll likely celebrate because the loss of his friend has affected him deeply, as was apparent during his Octagon interview. In the meantime, Garcia was also all business after his win over Onama.

In fact, the featherweight contender wants a taste of championship gold, but not the divisional one, which fans don’t appear excited for.

Fans question Steve Garcia calling out Max Holloway

Steve Garcia used his opportunity to call out Max Holloway, claiming that he wants to fight for the BMF belt. “I want that BMF, Max Hollloway, championship fight,” Steve Garcia told Daniel Cormier. If we look at what the BMF title represents, the ‘Mean Machine’ certainly fits the description. He’s got eight of his nine wins in Dana White’s promotion via knockouts, so pitting him against Holloway may not be a bad idea.

However, fans have objected to this fight. Steve Garcia is still not in the top 10, and they believe there are other fights that make sense, against the likes of Youssef Zalal and Arnold Allen. Calling Max Holloway out was a big “waste” of his opportunity to speak someone’s name on the microphone.

The 33-year-old has only had one of his seven UFC wins go to the judges. The rest have all ended inside the first two rounds, including his Contender Series outing. Yet, he’s leagues away from being a household name like Holloway. The Hawaiian last spoke up when he welcomed a BMF title challenge from Charles Oliveira. It’s hard to see Garcia getting a nod over Oliveira for a shot at the ceremonial title or Holloway.

It’s all speculation for now, so we need to wait for the next few months to see who Steve Garcia ends up fighting next. A 7-fight winning streak is impressive, and it’s something worth celebrating.