Gable Steveson Survives Head Kick & Moves Closer to UFC With Latest MMA Win

Gable Steveson moved one step closer towards his goal of joining the UFC with another first-round finish in his latest MMA fight.

A two-time Divison 1 NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, Steveson finally made a long-teased move to professional fighting last year and immediately became one of the most-hyped prospects in all of MMA.

The 25-year-old kicked off his year this week at Mexican Fight League 3, where he received a bit of a step up in competition against 14-fight MMA veteran Hugo Lezama in the night’s headlining bout.

Gable Steveson Eats Head Kick Before TKO Victory

Steveson made short work of his opposition last year and still got things done in the first round at MFL 3, but the wrestling standout did have to overcome a bit more adversity than he faced during his first year as a professional fighter.

Just under two minutes into the opening round, Lezama connected with a spinning kick that clipped his opponent’s jaw. Steveson seemed to have little issue eating the blow, and he quickly got back to pressuring a seemingly-frantic Lezama with punches.

WOW!!! 🇲🇽 Hugo Lezama lands a spinning heel kick!! #MFL3 live now for free on YouTube! pic.twitter.com/uqly9ZbUBx
— MFL (@fightmfl_) February 20, 2026

Steveson finally managed to get the fight to the ground as the first round went on and worked into mount, where he battered Lezama with strikes until the referee stepped into end things with just over a minute remaining in the opening frame.

Gable Steveson is now 3-0 in MMA after his latest win. | (MFL)

Will Gable Steveson Join The UFC In 2026?

The MFL 3 main event with Lezama more than doubled Steveson’s career fight time, even including his one-off custom rules fight with Mike Perry’s Dirty Boxing last October.

The 25-year-old’s professional MMA debut was his longest outing prior to meeting Lezama, as Steveson needed a little over a minute and a half to stop Braden Peterson with strikes at LFA 217. The former Olympian returned just over a month later for his aforementioned fight at Dirty Boxing 4, where he stopped Billy Swanson in just 15 seconds to close out the card.

Gable Steveson won his pro MMA debut in less than two minutes. | (LFA)

Another quick turnaround to meet Kevin Hein at Anthony Pettis FC 21 in November produced a 24-second knockout, and if Steveson is able to collect one or two more wins this year it would be no surprise at all to see the UFC either book him for an appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series or simply outright sign the heavyweight to the promotion’s roster.