Will Onama’s Feathers Be Ruffled by the ‘Mean Machine’?
Steve Garcia will face David Onama at UFC Fight Night on November 1st, 2025. The “Mean Machine” that is Steve Garcia currently has a record of 18-5-0 versus Onama’s record of 14-2-0. Overall, Onama averages a longer fight time than against Garcia. That could be a way to describe one ending to this fight. However, both fighters are evenly matched in almost every category. This holds especially for their defense. Both fighters have recognized that the other is proficient in both grappling and striking. Garcia comes in with a landing while holding slightly fewer strikes per minute than Onama.
Aside from striking, the “Mean Machine” finishes his fights quickly and with efficiency. This habit makes Onama’s tendency to win by outlasting his opponents unrealistic. The 31-year-old fighter could attempt a takedown to counter the striking strategy that “Mean Machine” has developed over time, but Garcia’s takedown defense is, on average, higher than Onama’s. Not only that, Garcia has taken fewer significant strikes on average in his previous fights. Maintaining distance for both fighters will be paramount in this regard, especially for Onama. The trick to that will be more on Onama since he has less than one inch of reach in both arms and legs.
Garcia should have a game plan as well for keeping the fight in his favor, as he did with Kyle Nelson, which ended in a win in the first round for Garcia from repeated punches and elbows. Onama has countered standing opponents’ strategies as well, so this can be a non-issue if the Ugandan seizes a successful takedown to throw off Garcia, making him reset his southpaw stance next to Onama’s orthodox. He shouldn’t take too long on the ground with him, though, as stated above, due to the tendency for Garcia to land significant strikes even in a grapple. The fight itself has a motivation factor to it outside of Garcia’s motivation to end it within the first five minutes. This is the motivation to move up in division rankings, just like the fight between Mario Bautista and Umar Nurmagomedov. The 33-year-old fighter should be looking at this as a stepping stone to move past the top fifteen, while Onama should be considering this as an upset to catapult him out of his current position to stay above the top fifteen. Either way, this is an even fight, and it will be one to watch at the beginning of November.
