Diego Lopes had his moment of glory immortalized in a photo for the ages on Sunday at the UFC’s first-ever event at the White House in Washington, D.C.
The Brazilian Lopes (28-8-0) won the opening fight of the UFC 250 Freedom main card over Steve Garcia (19-6-0) via TKO in the second round. Lopes caught his American opponent with a vicious left hook that left the latter dazed. Lopes then piled on with some heavy blows before scoring the knockout on a defenseless Garcia lying on the mat.
Diego Lopes breaks Steve Garcia's 7 fight win streak.
— MMA On Point (@mmaonpoint) June 15, 2026
Lopes has only lost to Volk x 2 and Movsar Evloev in the UFC 👀pic.twitter.com/JqIG3z78CN
Garcia entered the bout with all the momentum in the world, having won seven consecutive UFC fights. Lopes, coming off two recent losses to Alexander Volkanovski, put an end to that streak on the White House’s South Lawn.
Lopes celebrated by climbing the octagon and channeling his inner Maximus in the 2000 film “Gladiator.” He stood atop the barrier fence and raised his arms up as if to ask the crowd, “Are you not entertained?”
THIS PICTURE GOES SO HARD #UFCWhiteHouse https://t.co/NAFcOkJpNc pic.twitter.com/gJJzIcojTM
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 15, 2026
Lopes kept the celebration going after his win. He went straight to the UFC Fan Fest event held at The Ellipse nearby. The Brazilian may have knocked out an American fighter, but that didn’t stop the crowd from giving him a hero’s welcome.
LISTEN TO THE CROWD REACTION FOR DIEGO LOPES
— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) June 15, 2026
He immediately went to UFC fan fest after his victory over Steve Garcia 🇺🇸
via @full_send_mma pic.twitter.com/RTGUOLXOjF
What Lopes did on Sunday night was something that will surely echo in UFC eternity.
