Lucia Szabova, Joe Kropschot Earn Finishes In UFC Debuts

Two UFC newcomers delivered violent finishes in their Octagon debuts at UFC Halloween on October 31 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

Lucia Szabova stopped Tainara Lisboa in the third round after a dominant performance that saw the undefeated Slovak control the clinch and mat work throughout. Szabova dropped Lisboa repeatedly in the first round with trips and attacked a kimura before fending off a late rear-naked choke attempt. She opened the second frame by reversing a takedown and landing heavy ground strikes before nearly finishing an armbar at the bell.

Szabova And Kropschot Both Finish Opponents

By the final round Lisboa appeared exhausted. Szabova advanced through side control and mount before flattening her out from back position and unloading punches until the referee waved it off at 3:20. The 28-year-old former OKTAGON two-division champion entered as the biggest betting favorite on the card, per MMA Mania. She faced a brief scramble late in the opening round but otherwise broke Lisboa progressively before securing the violent finish.

Joe Kropschot submitted Nick Klein in the second round after reversing multiple takedowns and turning grappling exchanges into submission threats. Kropschot landed damaging calf kicks early before Klein secured a takedown and applied heavy top pressure. The debutant stayed composed, returned to his feet and immediately attacked a D'Arce choke. Klein escaped but Kropschot kept scrambling, took the back and locked in a body triangle with a rear-naked choke attempt in the closing seconds.

Klein shot for another takedown early in the second round. Kropschot reversed position, trapped Klein in an inverted triangle and isolated the arm to force the tap. Klein entered the bout 0-2 in the UFC. Kropschot was the first fighter from Season 10 of Contender Series to earn a UFC contract.

Szabova next faces a flyweight test against a striker. Kropschot could meet a middleweight opponent such as Cezary Oleksiejczuk in his second Octagon appearance.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — Rookie Report Card: Grading all Octagon newcomers UFC Halloween post-mortem