Both Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko have finalists in The Ultimate Fighter 32.
In a quick finish, Team Bullet’s Robert Valentin (10-3) made Team Grasso’s Paddy McCorry (4-1) tap out to a leg-trap Americana in the first round. Valentin executed a head-and-arm throw on McCorry before smoothly transitioning to the final submission move.
The Ultimate Fighter 32 middleweight finals are now decided, with Valentin set to face Team Bullet’s Ryan Loder for a UFC contract and the TUF tournament crown.
Valentin, hailing from Switzerland, was one of the seasoned fighters in the season and was the initial middleweight fighter picked by Grasso for her team. This selection seemed to bother Shevchenko, as Valentin had trained with her previously.
Valentin proved his worth during the fights, requiring less than half a minute to knock out Giannis Bachar with a powerful elbow and then swiftly defeating his teammate and friend McCorry in the semifinals.
Representing the U.S.A., Loder also impressed on his side of the bracket, submitting Tom Theocharis in the quarterfinals before earning his TUF 32 finale berth with a courageous decision win over Omran Chaaban.
In the upcoming week, the featherweight finals will reveal who Team Grasso’s Kaan Ofli will face. His teammate Mairon Santos is slated to fight Team Bullet’s Zygimantas Ramaska, but injuries may hinder his participation.
If Ramaska is unable to compete, there is an opportunity for either Team Grasso’s Guillermo Torres or Team Shevchenko’s Edwin Cooper Jr. to step in.
Nathan Fletcher from Shevchenko’s team learned on this week’s episode that a fractured fibula from his quarterfinal loss will prevent him from serving as a replacement.
The Ultimate Fighter 32 airs live every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
After the season finale, a flyweight championship trilogy bout between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko is set for UFC 306 on Sept. 14 at Sphere in Las Vegas.
The TUF 32 middleweight and featherweight tournament finalists will also compete for a six-figure UFC contract at the live finale, with the event date yet to be announced.
Below are the TUF 32 rosters divided by team:
Team Grasso Featherweights: Guillermo Torres (Mexico) (7-1), Kaan Ofli (Australia) (10-2-1), Bekhzod Usmonov (Tajikistan) (11-4), Mairon Santos (Brazil) (13-1)
Featherweights: Robert Valentin (Switzerland) (10-3), Paddy McCorry (Ireland) (4-1), Omran Chaaban (Finland) (6-1), Tom Theocharis (Canada) (9-5)
Team Shevchenko Featherweights: Roedie Roets (South Africa) (7-1), Zygimantas Ramaska (Lithuania) (9-2), Nathan Fletcher (England) (8-1), Edwin Cooper Jr. (USA) (6-1)
Middleweights: Shamidkhan Magomedov (Russia) (7-1), Mark Hulme (South Africa) (12-3), Ryan Loder (USA) (6-1), Giannis Bachar (Greece) (9-2)
Semifinal results:
Middleweight: Ryan Loder defeated Omran Chaaban by decision
Paddy McCorry defeated Robert Valentin by submission (leg trap Americana) (R1)
Featherweight: Kaan Ofli defeated Roedie Roets by submission (guillotine choke) (R1)
Zygimantas Ramaska vs. Mairon Santos
Quarterfinal results:
Roedie Roets defeated Guillermo Torres by decision
Robert Valentin defeated Giannis Bachar by KO (strikes) (R1)
Kaan Ofli defeated Nathan Fletcher by decision
Omran Chaaban defeated Shamidkhan Magomedov by technical submission (anaconda choke) (R2)
Zygimantas Ramaska defeated Bekhzod Usmonov
Ryan Loder defeated Tom Theocharis by submission (arm-triangle choke)
Mairon Santos defeated Edwin Cooper Jr. by split decision
Paddy McCorry defeated Mark Hulme by submission (guillotine choke) (R1)
