Lucia Szabova is 13-0, and the UFC now has one more problem to figure out at 125 pounds. The former Oktagon MMA two-division champion stopped Tainara Lisboa with ground-and-pound at 3:20 of Round 3 at UFC Vegas 123 on Saturday at the Meta Apex, the official result confirmed by UFC News on X.
She did it as the card-opener. On Halloween. On a night headlined by Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan. Somebody in matchmaking owes the early crowd a thank-you note.
The fight was mostly Szabova’s from the first trip takedown. Per Cageside Press, she spent Round 1 hunting a kimura, working knees and elbows in the clinch and dragging Lisboa back down every time the Brazilian scrambled up, although Lisboa took the back late and finished the round strong. Round 2 was Lisboa’s best stretch. She dropped Szabova to a knee with a body kick and took the back standing before Szabova reversed along the fence, ground out another takedown and closed the round on an armbar attempt.
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The third was the finish. Szabova put Lisboa down early, settled into side control and opened her up with elbows. She flattened her out, took the back, chased a rear-naked choke from a position that wasn’t quite there, then went back to the elbows and punches. One heavy elbow made Lisboa grimace, the defense dried up, and the referee stepped in. MMA Junkie described Lisboa as overwhelmed and bloodied by the end.
Lisboa (7-5, 2-3 UFC) was dropping to flyweight looking to snap a pair of losses. Her corner drew criticism from Daniel Cormier and Laura Sanko on the broadcast, both heading into the third round and after the stoppage, according to MMA Junkie.
The resume
Szabova arrived with real hardware. Bloody Elbow noted she’s the first and only woman to hold multiple titles in Oktagon. She won bantamweight gold by knocking out Cecile Bolander in August 2025, took the flyweight belt earlier this year, then defended her 135-pound title against ex-UFC fighter Lucie Pudilova in August.
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Which makes her origin story funny in hindsight. She told Simon Head of UFC.com she came up through judo and Muay Thai and nearly walked away from MMA after trying it, because “it was too brutal for me.” She added: “Like I never thought I could beat somebody on the ground and finish girls. But when I tried, I figured it out.” She figured it out, all right.
After the win, she got emotional with Cormier about the time away from her son, Dragon, who’s back in Slovakia. “This victory is for my son. I haven’t seen him in one month,” she said.
The oddsmakers had her as a heavy favorite, per MMA Mania. Aaron Bronsteter, who had “Szabova wins in R3” at +650 among his long-shot darts on X, had a very good afternoon.
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My take: putting a 12-0 double champ on the very first fight of a Fight Night was a weird call, and she made it look weirder. Flyweight just crowned Natalia Silva, and Cageside Press is right that the division is wide open. Szabova showed takedowns, top control and finishing instincts against a tough veteran who never quit. Next time, give her a ranked opponent and a slot on the main card.
