With the semi-finals almost set in both weight classes, The Ultimate Fighter 33 is nearly halfway done heading into Episode 6.
The episode starts with a gifting of another Kazakhstan fur coat from Alibi Idiris, this time to the man he fought the day before, Furkatbek Yokubov. While Yokubov is disappointed in his performance, he holds a lot of respect for Idiris and embraces him after accepting the gift.
Diego Bianchini jokes about where the jiu-jitsu coach is, and is instantly mocked by Rodrigo Sezinando, his house rival. The two slowly get more aggressive as Sezinando mocks Bianchini’s only loss, which he feels he was robbed in. Bianchini retaliates by bringing up Sezinando’s only loss and mocking his representation of Brazil while living in Canada. Sezinando makes a note to ask for this fight specifically next, which makes sense considering they’re the only two unmatched welterweights.
Former Women’s Champions Reflect on TUF Lessons
Daniel Cormier introduces two TUF alumni who’ll help coach for the day, Raquel Pennington and Rose Namajunas. After some quick advice, the ladies got to work on helping the prospects.
“The Ultimate Fighter was a great experience for me. Definitely came at the perfect time in my life, a huge opportunity, and I really thrived,” Namajunas fondly recalled from her time on the show.
Former women’s bantamweight champion Pennington piggybacked off this,
“The Ultimate Fighter for me was a pivotal moment in my career. Became one of the first women to sign with the UFC. I wanted to become the world champion; I became the world champion. It totally changed my life and my family’s life. It truly let me spread my wings as an athlete and as a person.”
Firstly, we lock in on Matt Dixon and his past on DWCS, where he suffered his only career loss. Dixon blames his pace for gassing out and losing the fight, recalling the negative effects following the loss.
“It definitely took its toll on my joy for the sport. This is my chance to get redemption in front of him as well too. So this fight right here will be an awesome opportunity.”
Chael Sonnen and his coaches rave about Dixon and his well-rounded ability, looking to see him grab a finish against Alex Sanchez. Dixon himself sees the same,
“I want to mix it up. You’re gonna see kicks from me, you’re gonna see dynamic footwork, dynamic movements. I’m going to put the pressure on him, and I’m going to throw with bad intentions. I want to walk this guy down and knock him out. I believe that it’s going to be an all-out striking war.”
Team Sonnen Learns Old School Dirty Boxing, Ground and Pound
Team Sonnen also gets a guest coach for the episode in UFC veteran and former TUF alumni Ed Herman. Herman shows the team some nasty ground and pound, which Matt Dixon takes note of before his fight.
We then flip to Alex Sanchez, in the middle of a deep conversation with Rodrigo Sezinando. Sanchez says he never struggled growing up, but that he was taught to work in the fields as soon as he could. He used the money he made to start training MMA in Mexico. Sanchez now trains with his girlfriend, former UFC fighter Silvana Gomez Juarez, at the UFC PI in Mexico.
Traveling to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and taking a look back at some footage of a young Matt Dixon boxing. Visiting his home gym, we see TUF veteran Gerald Harris, and a glimpse at Dixon’s motivation.
“Being in the UFC means so much to me, to the point where I would sacrifice being away from my daughter and my wife.”
Additionally, a glimpse of how Alex Sanchez got to TUF is shown, with a seven-fight winning streak leading to the appearance.
“If it wasn’t for the fact that I am very well-rounded, I believe I would be worried. Truth is, wherever the fight goes, I’ll be able to handle it. If he wants to wrestle me, if he wants to strike with me, I’m not worried. I am going to try to look for the finish like in all of my fights, I’m the type of fighter that can deliver great knockouts.”
Cormier seems worried about Sanchez being held against the cage, wanting him to focus on keeping his back off the cage. Instead, putting the pace and pressure on Dixon with his striking seems to be the game plan for Sanchez.
The Ultimate Fighter 33: Matt Dixon vs. Alex Sanchez
Dixon kicks off the fight on the front foot, landing a massive right hand seconds in. Sanchez looks to return fire on the aggressive Dixon, countering with calf kicks and winging hooks. As soon as Dixon finds himself in boxing range, he throws short combinations in bunches. Sanchez continues to get walked down, eating some big body strikes while struggling to land counters. The Tulsa native started using more head movement and showed more confidence, blocking less and less and pushing forward harder as the opening frame wore on. Dixon backed Sanchez to the cage and landed a massive 1-2 into a winging left hook that dropped Sanchez. It took just five ground and pound strikes before the ref stepped in to save the stunned Sanchez.
Matt Dixon was declared the winner by TKO and advances to the Welterweight semi-finals. Afterwards, Daniel Cormier was audibly upset, scolding Sanchez in the back for not listening to instructions and backing up throughout the fight.
Episode 7 will feature the last Flyweight quarterfinals matchup between Tumelo Manyamala and Roybert Echeverria.
That wraps up an exciting episode of The Ultimate Fighter 33. We’ll recap each episode from the season as the show unfolds.
