Lopes finishes Garcia at UFC White House after cornerman Costa's pinpoint advice

Diego Lopes defeated Steve Garcia (19-6) by second-round ground-and-pound at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House on Sunday, then immediately handed the credit to the man in his corner: UFC flyweight Alessandro Costa.

Lopes admitted the opening round was close and that he may have been trailing on the scorecards. The fight turned midway through Round 2 when Costa delivered a precise instruction between exchanges: step back the first time Garcia lands, then stand your ground on the second shot and answer with a three-punch combination. Lopes executed it almost to the letter — missing the first two punches before the third dropped Garcia, setting up the finish.

“The whole credit I give to my brother, Alessandro,” Lopes said in a post-fight interview. “He told me, ‘Hey, he connects you, you step back, the second time you stay and hit him with three punches.’ When I hit him, I missed the first one, I missed the second one, I connected with No. 3. All thanks to Alessandro. He did a great job in the corner.”

The corner role was something of a side project for Costa, who had been training with Lopes when he received a short-notice call of his own. Costa turned around in two months to knock out Matt Schnell last weekend, and he had hoped that momentum would carry into Lopes’s performance at the White House — which it did.

With the win, Lopes moves to 28-8 and is now pushing for a temporary move up to lightweight. The Brazilian says his body needs a break from the featherweight cut, and he is keen to test himself at 155 pounds for a fight or two before potentially returning to 145.

“I just need to talk with the UFC,” Lopes said. “I want to move to 155 for a couple of fights. To fulfil my body. But if the UFC want me to stay at 145, I need to be more disciplined with my diet again. I love food. I want to move to 155… I’m healthy, I have no injuries, I hope the UFC can book another fight for me soon. If it is at 155, I’m going to prove I can fight at that weight class.”

Lopes confirmed he will defer to the promotion on the weight class decision, though his preference is clear.