We’ll be recapping each episode of The Ultimate Fighter 32 this year, with episode 11 arriving on August 13, 2024. Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are your coaches, while featherweights and middleweights are featured.
Nathan Fletcher, who lost of Kaan Ofli earlier in the season, gets his leg checked out after experiencing pain after the fight. Turns out, he has a full fracture, having broken his fibula. It also turns out that he fought eight to nine minutes on it.
UFC President and CEO Dana White lauds Fletcher for his toughness given he had still been showing up to practice and training on a broken leg.
That’s not the only concern this week. Edwin Cooper and Guillermo Torres have been selected as back-up fighters for the second featherweight semifinal, as Zygimantas Ramaska has a partially broken jaw. Doctor’s had previously given him a thumb’s up, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission has concerns that he’s not fully healed.
This week, however, it’s the middleweights in action, and both Paddy McCorry and Robert Valentin are Team Grasso fighters. That means Alexa Grasso is stepping back and letting her fighters prep with other coaches in their corner.
We get a little bit of fun this week. Team Grasso tries their hand at golf, not on the course, just hitting balls at a range. Turns out, they’re not much good at it, with McCorry arguably having the best showing and Grasso proving she’s a much better fighter than golfer. Valentina Shevchenko, meanwhile, stays very on-brand: “Bullet” takes her team to a shooting range, then shows off her own marksmanship skills — looking very, very good, drawing a round of applause and “female James Bond” comparisons from her team.
No issues with weigh-ins this week, and then it’s time for the second semi-final of the year. McCorry and Valentin had become close during the season, but friendships will be put aside for this one.
The Ultimate Fighter 32: Paddy McCorry vs. Robert Valentin
Round 1:
Valentin fires first, launching a combo that backs McCorry up. A second follows. McCorry gets off a kick, and circles on the outside, looking to avoid Valentin’s power. Valentin catches a kick but can’t quite dump McCorry, in an opening minute that had both some action, and nervous energy to it. Things settle down a bit, but it’s still Valentin initiating the exchanges, that come in bursts. With about two minutes left in the round, Valentin swarms, and McCorry covers up, then turns the tables, unloading a few lefts and rights that have Valentin shelling up. After a nasty right hand connects for Paddy, Valentin goes in on a takedown then, eventually goes for a head and arm throw, and lands it. He’s in side control, and soon gets an arm-bar to end the fight.
Official Result: Robert Valentin def. Paddy McCorry by submission (arm-bar), Round 1
Robert Valentin now moves on to the final, where he’ll fight Ryan Loder. The featherweight final, meanwhile, will be set next week.
