Alexa Grasso took the lead once more on the newest episode of The Final Fighter 32.
The reigning UFC flyweight champion moved to 2-1 in her teaching matchup with Valentina Shevchenko, as her No. 2 featherweight choose Kaan Ofli gained a call over Crew Bullet’s Nathan Fletcher. That is additionally Grasso’s first featherweight win of the season after her No. 1 choose at 145 kilos, Guillermo Torres, misplaced to Shevchenko’s high choose Roedie Roets.
Ofli (11-2-1) needed to work onerous for his choice win as Fletcher (8-1) proved to be greater than an equal match on the toes and on the bottom. The primary spherical clearly went to the Australian as he used an advancing jab and a heavy proper hand to strain Fletcher earlier than finally scoring with a slam. From there, Ofli methodically handed Fletcher’s defenses till he took his again, from the place he combined in ground-and-pound with a rear-naked choke try.
Fletcher survived to make it to Spherical 2 and understanding he wanted to tie it as much as pressure an additional body, the Scouser got here out swinging. As Fletcher flurried, Ofli remained calm till he discovered a gap for an additional takedown. Fletcher shortly returned to his toes, solely to get taken down once more, however then he shocked Ofli by going for broke with a rolling scramble that resulted in him briefly taking Ofli’s again.
Although Fletcher managed loads of offense, Ofli continued to catch him with strikes as properly and ended the combat working from high place. Ofli’s efforts had been sufficient to earn him a call and place within the TUF 32 featherweight semifinals.
Subsequent week, we now have a rescheduled middleweight matchup between Crew Grasso’s Omran Chaaban (6-1) and Crew Bullet’s No. 1 choose Shamidkhan Magomedov (7-1. This bout was speculated to happen on Episode 2, however was postponed when Chaaban was identified with an open chilly sore.)
Within the aftermath of final week’s combat, which noticed Robert Valentin score a fast and brutal knockout of Giannis Bachar, the episode opened with a scene of Bachar struggling together with his first-ever loss to strikes. Valentin and Bachar’s teammates made positive to consolation the Greek fighter, assuring him that these sorts of losses are merely a part of being a fighter.
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 may also 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 group:
Crew 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)
Crew 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
Advancing to semifinals: Roets, Valentin, Ofli
Eradicated: Torres, Bachar, Fletcher
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