WATCH: Steve Garcia mauls Charlie Ontiveros to open UFC Vegas 39 prelims

UFC Vegas 39 kicked off with a wild fight as Steve Garcia recovered from some rough early moments to crush Charlie Ontiveros in the second round.

In the early moments of the bout between Garcia and Ontiveros, it looked like “The American Badboy” was going to have a short night at the office and score his first win inside the Octagon. The Texas native landed a beautiful axe kick that put Garcia on wobbly legs and into survival mode.

Steve Garcia crushes Charlie Ontiveros at UFC Vegas 39

Charlie Ontiveros breaks out the axe kick early 😳 #UFCVegas39 pic.twitter.com/8W8bN3QvsC

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 9, 2021

In a show of impressive durability, “Mean Machine” recovered fairly quickly and once again began to push a heavy pressure attack on his opponent. However, that led to getting hit with a nice check hook that again put him on shaky ground and trying to stay in the fight. Eventually, Garcia recovered and was able to get the fight to the mat where he started to build some momentum of his own, as the advantages he had on the ground started to show. He even landed a strike that opened up a nasty cut on Ontiveros.

The second round ended up being the opposite of the first. New Mexico’s Garcia got the fight back to the mat and started to work over his opponent. Landing more thundering ground-and-pound. After a couple of minutes, the 29-year-old transitioned to full mount and unleashed a barrage of hammer fists that Ontiveros could not defend. Forcing the referee to jump in and stop the fight with 3:09 left in the round.

Mean ground-and-pound got the job done for @MeanMachine505 😤 #UFCVegas39 pic.twitter.com/Giwtwcj01I

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 9, 2021

The victory was an outstanding show of heart and toughness as Garcia recovered from a nightmarish start to win in a destructive fashion. It was the LFA veteran’s first win in the Octagon as he moved his overall record to 12-4.

For Ontiveros, the setback was a third straight defeat in the UFC. He is winless in the promotion and may be in danger of finding a new fighting home next week.