Lucia Szabova Stays Unbeaten With Third-Round TKO in UFC Debut

Lucia Szabova got a hard, physical introduction to the UFC. The former two-division OKTAGON champion took Tainara Lisboa into the third round, found her back and finished the job with punches.

The official UFC live feed lists the stoppage at 3:20 of Round 3, with referee Chris Tognoni stepping in after punches from back control. Szabova's record moved to 13-0. The first Slovak woman to compete in the UFC walked out of Meta APEX with a finish in her debut.

Szabova kept driving the fight to the mat

Lisboa made Szabova work through nearly 14 minutes, and the fight kept returning to the wrestling and grappling exchanges that separated them.

UFC's live event data recorded three completed takedowns for Szabova in the opening round, another in the second and one more early in the third. Lisboa had moments of her own and completed a takedown late in Round 1, but she spent too much of the fight reacting to Szabova's entries and position changes.

The finish grew out of that pressure. Szabova completed the third-round takedown, attacked a submission and stayed on Lisboa when the opening changed. She did not force the first idea. She took the back and punched until Tognoni had seen enough.

The official result calls it a KO/TKO by punches from back control. The fight never reached the judges.

The European resume carried over

Szabova arrived in Las Vegas with more experience than the words "UFC debutant" usually suggest. She had already won OKTAGON titles at bantamweight and flyweight, then defended the 135-pound belt against former UFC fighter Lucie Pudilova in August.

Her path to this fight also included a long break after becoming a mother. She returned in 2024, won five straight bouts and turned that run into a UFC contract. Saturday's result made it six wins since the layoff and gave Slovakia its first female UFC winner.

UFC's own profile described her as the first woman in OKTAGON history to hold championships in two divisions. The question was whether that form would survive a change of promotion, a cut to 125 pounds and an opponent with four UFC appearances. Szabova answered it without trying to turn the fight into something prettier than it was.

She wrestled when the opening was there and stayed patient when Lisboa resisted. Once the position broke open, she finished. That is a useful first night in a division where a newcomer can disappear quickly if her game works in only one phase.

What the result means at flyweight

One win does not put Szabova into the title picture, and Lisboa entered on a two-fight losing streak. The UFC still gave her a real test rather than a ceremonial debut. Lisboa had won two of her first four UFC fights, owned three career knockouts and three submissions, and was making a planned move down from bantamweight.

Szabova left with the first UFC victory on her record and another late finish. She has now won by knockout or submission in 10 of 13 professional fights, according to the updated UFC event data.

The result is rougher for Lisboa. Her record fell to 7-5, and this is her third consecutive stoppage loss. The move to flyweight did not solve the positional problems that appeared in her defeats to Luana Santos and Melissa Croden.

FightPulse covered the UFC Vegas 123 weigh-ins after both women made the flyweight limit. Szabova weighed 125.5 pounds, Lisboa 125. Szabova then carried her regional form into the smaller division and a new promotion.

The next matchup should tell us more about where Szabova belongs at 125 pounds. She leaves UFC Vegas 123 at 13-0 and now waits for her second UFC opponent.