Featherweight fighters Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are evenly matched.
This week's episode Ultimate Fighter 32 In the final quarterfinal bout of the 145-pound tournament, Team Grasso's Myron Santos (13-1) won a hard-fought split decision over Team Brett's Edwin Cooper Jr. (6-1). Both coaches had two featherweight fighters in the semifinals, making this a very close contest.
Team Grasso's latest victory was by no means easy. Santos and Cooper fought hard for two frames before heading into a third round “Sudden Victory.” Cooper, a born and bred wrestler, effectively neutralized Santos' striking in the first round with five tenacious minutes of combat. It was clear that the Team Bullet fighter had won 10-9, but Santos wasn't done yet.
The 23-year-old Brazilian landed a flurry of strikes in the second round, unable to get Cooper to the mat. Santos came forward and landed precise strikes to the head and body, pushing Cooper down throughout the round. To no one's surprise, the third round was a close one. TUF If the score was tied after two rounds, an additional rule was required.
Round three was close, with Santos dominating much of the opening period, but Cooper closing in late with aggressive strikes and takedowns. Neither fighter was able to land any decisive strikes in the final round, but Santos appeared to have the upper hand with impactful strikes, and the judges agreed, awarding him a 1/2 score.
Santos, long considered one of Brazil’s top prospects, will advance to the semifinals along with teammate Kaan “The Great” Ofri and Team Bullet fighters Roddy “The Great” Loots and Žigimantas “The Great” Lamasca of Lithuania.
Next week will see the final middleweight quarter-final bout between Team Grasso’s Paddy McCrory and Team Barrett’s Mark Hulme.
Ultimate Fighter 32 It airs live on ESPN+ every Tuesday at 10pm ET.
Following the season finale, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are scheduled to face off in a three-fight flyweight championship bout, with a date yet to be determined.
The finalists are About TUF32 The show's final episode will also feature a middleweight and featherweight tournament with fighters competing for a six-figure UFC contract, with the date for that event also yet to be announced.
here About TUF32 Roster by team:
Team Grasso
Featherweight
- Guillermo Torres (Mexico) (7-1)
- Kahn Ofri (Australia) (10-2-1)
- Bekhzod Usmonov (Tajikistan) (11-4)
- Myron Santos (Brazil) (13-1)
Middleweight
- Robert Valentin (Switzerland) (10-3)
- Paddy McAuley (Ireland) (4-1)
- Omran Chaaban (Finland) (6-1)
- Tom Theocharis (Canada) (9-5)
Team Shevchenko
Featherweight
- Rowdy Lotz (South Africa) (7-1)
- Zygimantas Lamaska (Lithuania) (9-2)
- Nathan Fletcher (England) (8-1)
- Edwin Cooper Jr. (USA) (6-1)
Middleweight
- Shamidkhan Magomedov (Russia) (7-1)
- Mark Hulme (South Africa) (12-3)
- Ryan Roeder (USA) (6-1)
- Yanis Bashar (Greece) (9-2)
Here are the quarterfinal results so far:
Rowdy Lotz def. Guillermo Torres by decision
Robert Valentin def. Yannis Bashar KO (strikes) (R1)
Khan Ofri def. Nathan Fletcher wins by decision
Omran Chaaban defeats Shamidkhan Magomedov by technical submission (anaconda choke) (2nd round)
Sigismund Lamaska def. Bekzod Usmonov
Ryan Roeder defeats Tom Theocharis via submission (arm triangle choke)
Myron Santos def. Edwin Cooper Jr. (Split Decision)
Semi-finalists: Loots, Valentin, Ofri, Chaaban, Lamasca, Roeder, Santos
Eliminated: Torres, Bachar, Fletcher, Magomedov, Usmonov, Theocharis, Cooper Jr.
