For many people in the fight community, the BMF belt holds significantly less value compared to the divisional titles in the UFC. However, for Steve Garcia, it means a great deal. The featherweight fighter extended his winning streak to seven fights at UFC Vegas 110 after finishing David Onama in the very first round of their main event fight. It was then that Garcia revealed his intentions to fight the BMF titleholder, Max Holloway.

“I want the one with Max Holloway and the BMF title,” Steve Garcia told Daniel Cormier during the post-fight Octagon interview. Claiming that he wants a story similar to the movie character Rocky Balboa, the 33-year-old added, “I want that champ. I want that BMF Max Holloway champion right there.” But there is a small issue here.

A caveat in Steve Garcia’s wishes to chase Holloway

After his loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308, Max Holloway decided to move up in the weight class and is no longer a featherweight fighter. This means that Garcia will have to jump a weight class if his intentions are to fight for the BMF title. This may not be a wise move for the ‘Mean Machine’, since he has yet to break into the top 10 of the 145lbs division.

However, prior to his joining the UFC in 2020, he appeared on the Contender Series 25, where he beat Desmond Torres via a spectacular first-round TKO. While his performance warranted a contract, he missed weight for the bout and hence had to be passed over. He eventually did join the UFC, and here’s the kicker. He joined as a lightweight, making his 155-lb debut in his promotional debut! However, his lightweight run wasn’t exactly stellar, where he racked up 2 wins and 2 losses, losing one of those via a first-round KO to Maheshate Hayisaer at UFC 275.

So, while there is a case to be made for Garcia’s move to lightweight, lots of factors have the fight community thinking otherwise. Furthermore, it is a bit strange to call out the former featherweight and current BMF champion as a #12-ranked featherweight. It seems like he has a ways to go before he can reach for ‘Blessed’, unless he puts on show-stopping performances that will catapult him up the rankings.

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How do you think the fans reacted to Steve Garcia’s callout?  Well, they do not seem to be sold on this callout, as they seem to believe that the featherweight fighter did not make proper use of his callout. Let’s take a look at what they had to say.

Garcia shouldn’t have called out Max Holloway, fans claim

There are plenty of contenders to fight Steve Garcia in the featherweight division before he entertains the thought of fighting for the title. As such, one fan wrote, “If he had called out movsar, lopes, allen, or yair he probably would’ve gotten the fight and a title shot if he won, but this just isnt going to happen yet,” highlighting the fact that Garcia missed out on making his callout worth it.

Others echoed the same sentiment, with a couple of fans writing, “Waste of a call out holy,” and “Bro wasted a call out,” which shows that they were looking for Steve Garcia to call someone else out. Interestingly, one of the rising featherweight fighters, Youssef Zalal, was there for Garcia to call out, as he was in the corner of David Onama at UFC Vegas 110. Some fans’ reactions indicated that they weren’t opposed to a fight between those two 145ers. “Why didn’t he call out Zalal!? He was right there as well ffs.”

Some fans believe Max Holloway has become an easy target, writing, “Anyone calling out Holloway nowadays,” while others tend to believe that such callouts are “cringe af.” Regardless of the negative reactions, there were some fans who backed Steve Garcia to beat Max Holloway, and that too, by finishing the BMF champion. One fan predicted, “Garcia KO r4.”

Well, what do you think of Garcia calling out Max Holloway? Drop your comments below.