Athletes
David Onama | Excited, But Also Expected
First-Time Headliner Discusses Saturday’s Main Event, Future Ambitions
David Onama hadn’t been to sign posters for this weekend’s fight card at the UFC APEX when he sat down to speak with me on Tuesday afternoon, but he had already been thinking about the experience and what it would be like for him.
For the first time in his career, it’s his face that is on the poster, as Onama squares off with fellow streaking featherweight Steve Garcia in Saturday’s combustible main event pairing. Having watched as others like Jean Silva broke down into tears upon getting that first in-person glimpse of this week’s poster, the 31-year-old emerging contender was ready to do his best to take it all in and appreciate the moment, without allowing it to get too big.
“This is everything that I worked for,” began Onama, who carries a four-fight winning streak and 6-1 mark in the division into this weekend’s matchup. “I always wanted to be on a poster, always wanted to be the main event in the UFC, and it’s just amazing that it’s this weekend. It's just everything I dreamed about, so it’s amazing.
“I know the feelings I’m gonna have, and I’m gonna try to embrace it. I know some people see their face on the poster and start crying, and I want to embrace that moment — go out there, see my name and my face on there, and just be happy.
“I saw (Silva’s) and I don’t want to be too starstruck because this is where I belong,” he added. “I just want to embrace this moment.”
Acknowledging that desire to balance his emotions with embracing the moment is something that most athletes don’t talk about in these types of situations. Whether it’s their debut, their first main card assignment, appearing on a pay-per-view, or being part of the final pairing for the first time, they’re all milestones and undeniable achievements, but they’re also, as Onama said, things that come with the territory if and when things start to fall into place professionally.
Saturday's Full Fight Card Preview
Earning victories begets greater opportunities, and continuing to climb the ladder can eventually yield main event assignments, and if you’re someone with true self-belief and championship ambitions, each of these benchmarks is anticipated and a smaller piece of the larger puzzle being built.
They’re great, but it’s also where Onama always envisioned himself to be as well.
Full Fight | David Onama vs Gabriel Benitez
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Full Fight | David Onama vs Gabriel Benitez
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“Everything I (was chasing) is finally coming; everything that I worked for is finally starting to pay off,” he said. “Being a headliner in the UFC, to be able to get that is something you have to put the work in to get — it’s never just a handout — and I feel like I’m the type of guy that has put the work in.
“I worked for this and it’s here, so yeah, I’m excited.”
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Though Onama and Garcia have been running on parallel paths of late, piling up victories and breaking into the rankings within a couple of months of one another, their journeys to this point have been different.
Where Garcia is a dark horse that put together an impressive resume on the regional circuit before landing in the UFC and then had to reset after a couple of early stumbles, Onama carried a little more buzz, having posted eight stoppage wins in eight appearances to begin his professional career before garnering a short-notice opportunity up a division in the UFC. Though he landed on the wrong side of the results against Mason Jones, he made the former two-division Cage Warriors champion work and stamped himself as someone to watch once he returned to his natural weight class.
Finishes of Gabriel Benitez and Garrett Armfield caused the buzz surrounding him to grow louder, while landing on the wrong side of the cards in a memorable battle with Nate Landwehr did nothing to diminish his standing as a fighter on the rise. But since connecting with the team at Factory X Muay Thai, Onama has taken things up a notch, resulting in the four-fight winning streak and surging momentum he carries into this weekend.
“I feel like training at Factory X —it’s one of the best teams, best gym in the world, and it helped me grow as a fighter, helped me change up my style,” he said of the Marc Montoya-led squad. “Training with guys like Youssef Zalal, Jonathan Martinez, Chris Gutierrez means I’m training with the best guys in the world, and that helped me a lot, helped me improve my game, get better. Without them, I feel like my game wouldn’t be where it is now.
“Everything in that gym is high level, so working with Youssef, who is ranked No. 6 or No. 7 right now, means a lot,” continued Onama, heaping praised on his teammate and close friend, who has been electric since returning to the promotion in March 2023, posting five consecutive victories to climb into the Top 10 in the 145-pound weight class. “The IQ Youssef has, learning from him, seeing him go out there in his last fight with Josh Emmett and perform like he did…
He paused, shaking his head with a smile.
“People thought it was gonna be a brawl, but he gets a submission,” he added. “Those are the things I want to add to my game. That’s stuff I wanna learn from him.”
He gets the opportunity to show what he’s learned since his appearance in April on Saturday, when he steps into the fray against Garcia, who called for this specific opportunity following his win over veteran Calvin Kattar in July. Asked by Daniel Cormier what he wanted next, the Albuquerque native said he’d like to headline an APEX event against one of the up-and-comers in the division, name-checking both Onama and Zalal, which immediately made the Ugandan featherweight’s ears perk up.
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“When he first called me out, it was like, ‘Alright,’” Onama said with a smile, acknowledging the duality of the situation, in that you’re happy to have a matchup brought forward, but also a little chuffed because no one calls out someone they believe is going to beat them. “Maybe he thought he could beat me, but now he gets to find out.
“He’s good, he’s talented; a good striker — I just think I’m a much different fighter than he is,” he continued, offering a quick assessment of his foe. “It’s a good matchup —he’s on a six-fight winning streak and I’m on four, so it’s a great matchup, the fight makes sense, and this is why the UFC put us together to fight this weekend.”
David Onama Fight Week interview | UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs Onama
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David Onama Fight Week interview | UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs Onama
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In addition to being a pairing that carries a lot of explosive potential, it’s one that will help shape how the featherweight division stacks up heading into 2026 as well.
Both men are stationed in the Top 15 — Garcia at No. 12, Onama one back at No. 13 — and there is a plethora of intriguing names on either side of them that would make for exciting matchups in the opening quarter of next year. The way Onama sees it, a victory this weekend should vault him into the Top 10 alongside Zalal and set up another marquee opportunity next time out.
All he has to do first is go out there and collect his fifth straight victory, and he’s unwavering in his belief that he’ll make that happen this weekend.
“When I go out there this weekend and beat Steve Garcia, that should put me in the Top 10, and from there, we’ll just see who’s next for me,” he said without pause, making sure to put a little extra emphasis on the “when” at the start of his response. “After beating Steve Garcia, it’s just get back to camp, start training again, and see who we get next.
“There is no rush —my time will come —so I just have to get this win this weekend and keep getting better so I’m ready for the guys they put in front of me. No rush, but we’ll definitely be Top 10, and we’ll see who is next after that.”
UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs Onama took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas on November 1, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!