Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are lifeless even in terms of their featherweight fighters.
This week’s episode of The Final Fighter 32 featured the ultimate quarterfinal matchup of the 145-pound event, which noticed Staff Grasso’s Mairon Santos (13-1) win a hard-fought break up choice over Staff Bullet’s Edwin Cooper Jr. (6-1). That leaves the opposing coaches neck-and-neck within the competitors, with each having despatched two featherweights to the semifinals.
Staff Grasso’s newest win was removed from straightforward as Santos and Cooper went to a 3rd “sudden victory” spherical after two aggressive frames. Cooper, a lifelong wrestler, successfully neutralized Santos’ placing within the first spherical with 5 minutes of tenacious grappling. It was a transparent 10-9 for the Staff Bullet fighter, however Santos wasn’t completed.
The 23-year-old Brazilian obtained his placing stepping into Spherical 2 and Cooper was unable to convey the battle again to the mat. Santos pressed ahead and related with correct blows to the pinnacle and physique, pushing Cooper again for the whole thing of the spherical. To nobody’s shock, a 3rd spherical—solely used on TUF if the scores are tied after two rounds—was wanted.
Spherical 3 was razor shut as Santos dominated a lot of the early motion, just for Cooper to come back on late with some aggressive placing and a late takedown. Neither fighter managed to land a definitive blow within the ultimate spherical, although Santos appeared to have the sting in impactful strikes, and the judges agreed as he earned a break up nod.
Lengthy touted as a prime prospect out of Brazil, Santos advances to the semifinals alongside teammate Kaan Ofli (Australia), and Staff Bullet fighters Roedie Roets (South Africa) and Zygimantas Ramaska (Lithuania).
Subsequent week options the ultimate middleweight bout of the quarterfinals as Staff Grasso’s Paddy McCrory fights Staff Bullet’s Mark Hulme.
The Final Fighter 32 airs dwell each Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Following the season finale, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are anticipated to face off in a flyweight championship trilogy bout at a date nonetheless to be decided.
The finalists of the TUF 32 middleweight and featherweight tournaments will even compete for a six-figure UFC contract on the present’s dwell finale. A date for that occasion can also be but to be introduced.
Listed below are the TUF 32 rosters divided by staff:
Staff Grasso
Featherweights
Guillermo Torres (Mexico) (7-1)
Kaan Ofli (Australia) (10-2-1)
Bekhzod Usmonov (Tajikistan) (11-4)
Mairon Santos (Brazil) (13-1)
Middleweights
Robert Valentin (Switzerland) (10-3)
Paddy McCorry (Eire) (4-1)
Omran Chaaban (Finland) (6-1)
Tom Theocharis (Canada) (9-5)
Staff 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)
Listed below are the quarterfinal outcomes thus far:
Roedie Roets def. Guillermo Torres by way of choice
Robert Valentin def. Giannis Bachar by way of KO (strikes) (R1)
Kaan Ofli def. Nathan Fletcher by way of choice
Omran Chaaban def. Shamidkhan Magomedov by way of technical submission (anaconda choke) (R2)
Zygimantas Ramaska def. Bekhzod Usmonov
Ryan Loder def. Tom Theocharis by way of submission (arm-triangle choke)
Mairon Santos def. Edwin Cooper Jr. by way of break up choice
Advancing to semifinals: Roets, Valentin, Ofli, Chaaban, Ramaska, Loder, Santos
Eradicated: Torres, Bachar, Fletcher, Magomedov, Usmonov, Theocharis, Cooper Jr.
