Noah Gugnon vs Kody Steele: lightweight prospects meet at UFC 333
France's Gugnon and America's Steele both won their last UFC fight by first-round submission.
Two lightweight prospects meet at UFC 333 at Etihad Arena on Saturday 24 October: France's Noah Gugnon and American Kody Steele. Heavy reported the fight on 2 October, and FightMag lists it on the early prelims.
Gugnon, 25, is 10-2. He won his first four professional fights after debuting in 2021, lost two in a row, then rebuilt with two regional wins in late 2024 and three straight first-round finishes in Ares FC, the last over Bruno Matos in April. He took his UFC debut on short notice in August and submitted Milos Janicic with a first-round rear-naked choke.
Steele, 31, is 8-1. He turned professional in 2022, went 6-0 in Fury FC and earned his UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series in 2024, stopping Chasen Blair with a body shot in round two. He lost a unanimous decision to Rongzhu on his debut in a fight that earned Fight of the Night, then submitted Dom Mar Fan with a first-round heel hook this year.
Steele pulled out of a fight in August with an injury, so this is his first outing since the Dom Mar Fan win. Heavy called him "one of the most entertaining fighters in the lightweight division". Both men list a 71-inch reach, with Gugnon the taller at 5ft 11in to Steele's 5ft 9in, according to AgentMMA.
UFC 333: Volkanovski vs EvloevSat 24 Oct · Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi See ticketsSource: Heavy, AgentMMA: Steele vs Gugnon, FightMag: UFC 333 schedule
