Kyle Nelson expects Steve Garcia to “gas” out at UFC Vegas 97 en route to second-round TKO

Kyle Nelson was supposed to get the biggest fight of his career as he was booked to face Calvin Kattar at UFC Vegas 97.

However, just about a month out from the fight, it was revealed Kattar was injured and the fight was off. It was disappointing news for Nelson who had a chance to crack the top-10.

“We spent a lot of time preparing for Calvin. Having an opportunity to jump into the top-10, top-15, like this was definitely exciting, a little unexpected. When we got the call, I wasn’t expecting a top-15 guy. But, it felt great that the UFC were looking at me to jump into the rankings. I thought Calvin Kattar was a great matchup for me stylistically, I thought we would put on a great fight and I had the skill set to beat him, but he is injured now,” Nelson said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com.

Once Kattar was out of their UFC Vegas 97 fight, the promotion offered Steve Garcia. Although it isn’t a ranked opponent or a big-name like Kattar, Kyle Nelson jumped at the chance, as he knows it will be a fun striking matchup.

“We heard that Kattar was injured and they would find someone else. They told me they had Steve Garcia, the name didn’t ring a bell but it didn’t matter. I feel so confident in this training camp and where my skill set is at. Once I looked him up, I recognized him from some of his fights. It will be just as exciting of a fight as the Kattar fight would’ve been,” Nelson said.

Kyle Nelson expects to KO Steve Garcia

Entering the bout, Kyle Nelson is the betting underdog, but he has full confidence in his skillset. He believes he has the cardio advantage and expects to push an intense pace which leads to Garcia gassing. Once Garcia gasses, Nelson expects to get a second-round TKO to extend his win streak to four.

“He comes on strong, a lot of his wins are early in the first round. He is fighting someone who is very durable, we are not going to see him put me away early. We will see him try to put me away and run into a shot. Jind of like Bill Algeo in my last fight. Or we are going to see him use up his gas in the first round and I finish him with a second-round TKO,” Nelson said.

If Nelson does get his hand raised at UFC Vegas 97, he says the goal is to make a quick turnaround at UFC Edmonton. He also hopes he can get rebooked against Calvin Kattar on that card, or get the fight against Nate Landwehr he has asked for.

“I’m not sure where the UFC wants me, but I would be happy to rebook the Kattar fight. Maybe we can book it on the Edmonton card, but if not, the Landwehr fight would be great,” Nelson added.