Kody Steele rediscovered his lethal finishing touch early on Saturday night, stealing the spotlight at UFC 333 with a blistering first-round knockout over Noah Gugnon inside the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
The always aggressive and scrappy Steele found himself engaged in a chaotic, high-stakes battle before landing the definitive blow that ended the contest. Midway through the opening frame, Steele uncorked a devastating right hand that sent Gugnon crashing to the canvas, prompting the referee to step in and wave off the fight at the 3:54 mark of the first round. The emphatic victory added another highlight-reel finish to Steele’s rapidly growing resume on the sport’s biggest global stage.
Entering the promotion in 2025 with a highly decorated and deeply respected grappling pedigree, Steele has quickly transitioned into a fan-favorite mixed martial artist who is more than willing to abandon a purely ground-based strategy to stand and trade leather with his opposition. That striking-first mentality was on full display against Gugnon. Although Steele initially attempted to mix in his elite wrestling to threaten takedowns and put Gugnon on the mat, the dynamic of the fight quickly shifted once Gugnon began finding success with his own punches.
Rather than retreat or rely solely on his grappling background, Steele chose to lean into the fire. Unable to resist the thrill of the pocket exchange, he began trading heavy blows with Gugnon. The calculated risk paid off tremendously, culminating in the precise right-hand counter that put an abrupt end to the bout just moments before the first-round horn.
In his post-fight interview inside the Octagon, a fired-up Steele revealed that the knockout was the exact execution of a game plan he had mapped out backstage before walking out to the arena lights.
"I was in the back, I was like, ‘I’m going to light this fool up with my right hand,’" Steele told the broadcast team while riding the adrenaline high of the victory. Turning his attention directly to the UFC brass, he made a passionate pitch for a lucrative performance bonus, adding, "Like I said, I want that money. I want that $100K, come on, put it in my bank account, let’s go."
With the victory, Steele improved his professional mixed martial arts record to 9-1, further solidifying his status as a formidable contender to watch in the promotion. The performance also served as an immediate bounce-back statement and a continuation of an impressive finishing streak. Steele entered the Abu Dhabi card following a slick and technically sophisticated inverted heel hook submission victory over Dom Mar Fan earlier this year in May. With Saturday night’s knockout over Gugnon, Steele has now successfully finished six of his past seven opponents, showcasing a dangerous blend of grappling dominance and sudden, concussive knockout power that continues to trouble anyone standing across from him inside the cage.
