Daniel Cormier’s team took a loss and then Cormier lost his patience on this week’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter 33.
The third welterweight fight of the season pitted Team Cormier’s Alex Sanchez (Mexico) against Chael Sonnen’s Matt Dixon (U.S.) and it was Dixon who emerged victorious via first-round knockout as he put the pressure on Sanchez early and never let up.
Dixon had Sanchez stuck on the back-foot, much to the frustration of Cormier. The former two-division UFC champion repeatedly yelled at Sanchez to move forward and attack, but Sanchez could never find his offense. He spent much of the bout countering and circling until he stepped right into a Dixon left hand that dropped him to the canvas. Dixon followed with ground-and-pound to seal the deal.
Afterwards, a frustrated Cormier ripped into Sanchez.
“Listen to me, Alex, you’ve got to go first,” Cormier said. “Your style doesn’t allow for you to back up. Don’t [expletive] back up. Don’t back up! If you’re a fighter, you don’t [expletive] back up. You go and you fight a [expletive]. Don’t back up! You can’t run. You choose to do this thing, you’ve got to [expletive] fight, you hear me? If we’re telling you something, listen.”
Dixon’s win helped Team Sonnen close the gap in the competition, which Cormier leads 4-2. He is also Sonnen’s first welterweight to advance, joining Team Cormier’s Daniil Donchenko and Jeff Creighton in the semifinals.
Next week, Team Sonnen’s Roybert Echeverria (Venezuela) faces off with Team Cormier’s Tumelo Manyamala (South Africa) in the final flyweight bout of the season.
There was no shortage of star power when it came to guest coaches this week as Cormier brought in former TUF competitors that later become UFC champions, Rose Namajunas and Raquel Pennington, while Sonnen called upon 20-year MMA veteran Ed Herman to give his squad some pointers.
The Ultimate Fighter 33 airs live every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Unlike most editions of TUF, coaches Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen will not fight at the conclusion of the season as both are long retired.
The finalists of the TUF 33 welterweight and flyweight tournaments will compete for a six-figure UFC contract in the show’s live finale fights. A date for those bouts is yet to be announced.
Here are the TUF 33 rosters divided by team:
Team Cormier
Flyweights
Eduardo Henrique (13-2), Brazil
Alibi Idiris (10-0), Kazakhstan
Imanol Rodriguez (5-0), Mexico
Tumelo Manyamala (6-1), South Africa
Welterweights
Rodrigo Sezinando (8-1), Brazil
Daniil Donchenko (11-2), Ukraine
Jeff Creighton (11-2-1), USA
Alex Sanchez (15-3), Mexico
Team Sonnen
Flyweights
Joseph Morales (12-2), USA
Furkatbek Yokubov (13-4), Uzbekistan
Roybert Echeverria (10-2), Venezuela
Arshiyan Memon (7-0), India
Welterweights
Diego Bianchini (9-1), Brazil
Matt Dixon (11-1), USA
Richard Martins (9-1), Brazil
Andreeas Binder (10-1, 1 NC), Ireland
Here are the quarterfinal results so far:
Joseph Morales def. Eduardo Henrique via first-round submission (rear-naked choke)
Daniil Donchenko def. Richard Martins via decision
Imanol Rodriguez def. Arshiyan Memon via first-round TKO (strikes)
Jeff Creighton def. Andreeas Binder via decision
Alibi Idiris def. Furkatbek Yokubov via decision
Matt Dixon def. Alex Sanchez via first-round TKO (strikes)
Advancing to semifinals: Morales, Donchenko, Rodriguez, Creighton, Idiris, Dixon
Eliminated: Henrique, Martins, Memon, Binder, Yokubov, Sanchez
