"After a bit of work on the feet early in the fight, Lezama tried flipping the script and shooting a takedown on the Olympic wrestler, which Steveson easily stuffed. Steveson then wound up on top briefly, but had to avoid an upkick, and welcomed the fight back to the feet. A spinning back kick by Lezama followed, but he seemed to lose his footing, going down easy and eating some big shots from Steveson on the ground."
"Steveson welcomed Lezama back up, and this time he landed a spinning kick before Gable overwhelmed him and got the fight back down. Steveson wound up controlling from the back; when Lezama rolled, Steveson was there with elbows, punches, and a big knee to the side. Lezama managed to survive that onslaught, with Steveson ending up in half-guard while the Mexican heavyweight held on. Lezama would scramble, but Steveson stayed with him, got back on top, and fired more ground n' pound."
Gable Steveson is 25, a former NCAA Division I wrestling champion and Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling. He has been touted as the future and savior of the UFC heavyweight division despite not yet signing with the promotion. He headlined an MMA card in Monterrey, Mexico against experienced Hugo Lezama, entering the fight 2-0 while Lezama was 11-3. Lezama, often undersized for heavyweight and known to cut to light heavyweight, weighed 238 pounds for this bout. Steveson controlled the contest with superior takedown defense, top control, elbows, punches and knees, prompting the referee to intervene when Lezama could not defend.
Read at Cageside Press
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