Kody Steele knocks out Noah Gugnon in Round 1 at UFC 333

Kody Steele opened the fight card at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi with a first-round knockout of Noah Gugnon, ending the bout with punches at 3:54 of Round 1. MMA Fighting reported the result, which stood as the first finish of the event.

Steele, a 31-year-old American who trains out of Syndicate MMA, improves to 9-1 with the win, assuming the result is added to his 8-1-0 record. He arrived on a strong run: his most recent recorded fight was a first-round submission of Dom Mar Fan at UFC Fight Night on May 2, 2026. Before that, his only recorded loss came by unanimous decision to Rongzhu at UFC 312 in February 2025. Steele is an orthodox fighter who lands 4.44 significant strikes per minute at 32 percent accuracy, and he averages 0.62 takedowns per 15 minutes.

Gugnon, 26, went into the bout at 10-2-0 and fell to 10-3 with the stoppage. He also stands orthodox and brought momentum of his own, having submitted Milos Janicic in the first round at UFC Fight Night: Medic vs. Rodriguez on August 1, 2026. That win came less than three months before this fight. Gugnon is five years younger than Steele.

Why it matters

• Steele turned a first-round submission win in May into a first-round knockout in October, giving him back-to-back opening-round finishes in his two most recent recorded fights.
• Gugnon had finished his previous recorded outing inside one round as well, so the result halts a quick-finishing run of his own.
• The two fighters are physically close. Both have a 71-inch, 180 cm reach, while Gugnon is two inches taller at five-foot-eleven to Steele's five-foot-nine. Steele's finish shows he did not need a size or reach edge to land the decisive strikes.

The knockout marks a notable change in method for Steele. His recent finish came by submission, yet his career numbers show a striker's profile, with no submission attempts averaged per 15 minutes. Ending a fight on the feet at 3:54 of the first round underlines that stand-up threat.