UFC: Port Angeles native Kody Steele proves his worth in Perth, Australia Fight Night bout

Published 1:30 am Friday, May 8, 2026

PERTH, Australia — Family, friends and mixed martial arts fans on the North Olympic Peninsula and worldwide turned into night owls for an evening in order to catch Port Angeles native Kody Steele in a lightweight division bout to open the UFC Fight Night card.

Shortly after the start of the preliminary undercard they were rewarded as Steele, a 31-year old now fighting out of Las Vegas, forced his opponent, Australia’s Dom Mar Fan, to submit at 3 minutes and 53 seconds to earn his first Ultimate Fighting Championship victory with the promotion.

“That’s the first of many,” Steele said in a post-bout interview in the octagon with former fighter and UFC host Michael “Hawk” Bisping. “But Hawk, I’ve been waiting for that for so long, so when I saw it I just had to take it.”

HE GOT IT

Kody Steele LOCKS IN the kneebar to start the night!

📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/oyH8T3QKK7

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) May 2, 2026

Analysis of the fight from UFC statistics show Steele was in control of the early moments, landing 19-of-25 punches to just 3-of-5 from Mar Fan and Steele found his opening against the Australian with just over 90 seconds to go in the first round when Steele grabbed a hold of a nasty heel hook — notorious for its effectiveness as well as it’s ability to injure the knee.

The danger of heel hooks comes from the way they attack the knee. Unlike an armbar where you feel increasing pain as the joint extends, heel hooks can tear your knee ligaments (ACL, MCL) or meniscus before significant pain registers. This means that by the time you realize you should tap, damage may already be done.

Mar Fan, nicknamed “Street Buddha,” tried to play it off and shake his leg free, but the hold was tight. Steele started to crank and eventually forced the tap — a tap so quick the UFC production staff couldn’t cut to a cameraman before it was already over.

“Wherever the fight went i was going to be prepared,” Steele said when asked if he was happy with how the bout unfolded. “I like bangers, I like putting on a show.

Proud of his performance and hungry to continue climbing the UFC ladder, Steele touted his abilities by walking Bisping through the hold.

“That was a 50/50 reverse grip right there,” Steele said. “Backside, that’s some high-level shit. Boy, I could do that all day to anybody in this division. So, let’s go.”

Reddit user BuffPriest on the MMASubredit was impressed with how quickly Steele ended the hold on Mar Fan.

“I love that he let go before the ref stepped in,” he posted. “That’s sportsmanship, and being a martial artist. Everyone know how career altering a leg lock can be. Let go quick. Much respect.”

The fights were streamed through the Paramount Plus app after the promotion inked a $7.7 billion broadcast deal in January. Post-fight performance awards were revised after the windfall of cash and Steele also received a post-fight bonus of $25,000 for finishing his fight via submission.

Next bout?

Most MMA fighters take between 4-to-6 months between bouts but between Steele’s exciting finishing move, the short duration of his fight and winning the bout, UFC may choose to have him compete sooner than later.

________

Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at sports@peninsuladaily news.com.