As he had on the show, Santos struggled with his weight cut, but did hit 146lbs on Friday once he stripped down. Ofli, meanwhile, seemed to cruise through his own weight cut with no apparent issues.

The winner of Olfi vs. Santos would, as always, earn a six-figure UFC contract.

Early in round one Santos threw two right hands and a knee. Ofli already had enough and clinched up. Good defense from Santos as he was able to get space and land a right hand. Forward pressure from Ofli as it was clear he wanted Santos on the mat. Santos against the cage fought the underhooks and got the separation. Back in the center of the cage Santos has success with the teep and the jab. An outside leg kick from Santos nearly swept Ofli. A kick followed that swept Ofli briefly. Ofli was never able to get anything off and Santos ended the round with a glancing head kick.

In round two Santos opened up with some leg kicks and a right to the body. Ofli was visibly outgunned on the feet as Santos was starting to let loose more and more. In an exchange Santos clipped Ofli with the right but came back with the left on the chin putting Ofli to sleep in spectacular fashion. And winning TUF 32 at featherweight in the process!

Official Result: Mairon Santos def. Kaan Ofli by knockout (left hook), Round 2, 1:30

The post UFC Vegas 96: Mairon Santos Wins TUF 32 at Featherweight, Stops Kaan Ofli appeared first on Cageside Press.

Headlined by middleweights Jared Cannonier and Caio Borralho, the Fight Night card on ESPN was set to crown two new TUF champs. In a featherweight match-up, Kaan Olfi, a highly-regarded 31-year old fighting out of Melbourne, Australia, was set to take on Brazil’s Mairon Santos.

Santos had missed weight, ever so slightly, for his semifinal fight, and would be one to watch at the scales during Friday’s weigh-in.

At middleweight, meanwhile, Robert Valentin and Ryan Loder vied to become TUF champ.

Caio Borralho, meanwhile, was getting the fast track with a main event match-up with “The Killa Gorilla” Cannonier, a former title challenger at 185lbs looking to get back in the mix.

Weigh-ins for UFC Vegas 96 get underway at 12PM ET, 9AM ET on Friday, August 23, 2024. Full results can be found below.

No misses at the scales on Friday, with Mairon Santos weighing in last but making weight behind the barrier.

UFC Vegas 96: Cannonier vs. Borralho Weigh-In Results

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Zygimantas Ramaska and Mairon Santos are set to face off in the final fight of The Ultimate Fighter 32 season, in the second featherweight semifinal. That is, if Ramaska is cleared from an injury incurred earlier in the season.

As it turns out, that minor facial fracture isn’t the only hurdle. It’s Santos’ weight. He’s about 151 heading into weigh-in day. “Alexa, my beloved coach, don’t worry. I’ll make it, and we’ll celebrate,” he says on camera.

He doesn’t make it. Santos hits the scale at 148, and is given another hour to cut the weight. Two pounds have to come off, but when he weighs in again, he’s 146.5. Despite offering to shave his head, coach Valentina Shevchenko and Ramaska agree to move forward in spite of the half pound overage.

That’s good news for Santos, who is upset with the miss nonetheless, taking it almost like a loss.

Ramaska and Shevchenko, meanwhile, are called before the athletic commission – and told he will not be cleared to fight. This, despite a doctor previously suggesting he would be able to compete. “We don’t take chances on fighter health,” a commission rep states.

“They just cancelled my fight, and they just made my dream, in one minute, gone,” Ramaska says, saying his journey is “finished. It’s not an easy time right now.”

That means Alexa Grasso has another fighter stepping in, Guillermo Torres. It also means she’ll have to step back as a coach, with two of her team members facing off.

The Ultimate Fighter 32: Guillermo Torres vs. Mairon Santos

Round 1:

Santos holds center to start the fight, walking Torres down. Mexico’s Torres fights on the outside, looking to counter and mixing in kicks as he circles the cage. It’s mostly single strikes and the odd combo, and once or twice, Santos lands a solid shot, drawing an ‘ooohh’ from his corner in an otherwise silent UFC Apex. Santos comes close again with his right hand, and fires a low kick. He closes the distance, gets off a few more punches, but is thrown to the ground by Torres, who clinches up when the Brazilian regains his feet. Torres stays on him, driving Santos into the fence, thinking about a takedown – but Santos pushes him off. Back at center, he fires a head kick which Torres blocks. Torres shoots late in the round, landing a takedown and taking the back, but he’s out of time.

Round 2:

Torres fires a lot kick early, and Santos continues to walk his opponent down. Out of nowhere, he launches a flying knee, but Torres avoids it then goes in on a single leg takedown attempt. Santos shows some solid balance fending that off. Still a lot of single strikes traded back and forth when Santos closes the distance, and a bit of clinching. When Torres lands a low kick, Santos fires one back. After the head kick attempt in the first and flying knee in the second, it feels like Santos might have something explosive in him. He fires another head kick with just over a minute on the clock, but Torres blocks it. In the final minute, Torres pursues a takedown, but then end up clinching with Santos reversing.

Round 3:

The chess match continues in the third, but a Santos jab backs Torres up/he drops to his backside about two minutes in. Might have been partially a slip, but he’s starting to show some damage. Perhaps sensing that his opponent is waning, Santos turns up the heat a bit, gets a couple of combos off. Torres covers up, and returns fire when he can. This one looks like it’s going to go the distance, and it does, though Santos again turns up the heat at the end of the round. He even gets close to a takedown before all is said and done, but they end the round swinging.

Official Result: Mairon Santos def. Guillermo Torres by unanimous decision

TUF 32 Finals:

• Middleweight – Ryan Loder vs. Robert Valentin
• Featherweight – Kaan Olfi vs. Mairon Santos

The finals will take place at this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 96.

The post The Ultimate Fighter 32 Ep. 12: Season Wraps, Finals Set appeared first on Cageside Press.

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.

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The Ultimate Fighter 32 is slowly winding down, with the semifinal round kicking off last week, and the coaches’ fight between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko recently announced for UFC 306 at The Sphere in Las Vegas (a card otherwise known as Riyadh Season Noche UFC).

To start episode 10, Dana White appears on screen to talk about featherweight finalist Zygimantas Ramaska, who has been sent to a specialist following his fight with Bekhzod Usmonov. He’s suffered a minor facial fracture, though one that has not impacted the cheek bone, and that should heal up in about six weeks. The doctor also tells him, given the low-risk nature of the injury, that it shouldn’t prevent him from competing. Ramaska tells the camera that he’s going to trust the science.

Kaan Ofli, ahead of what he calls the biggest fight of his career, is facing Voldemort – actually Roedie Roets, but Ofli is giving him the Harry Potter nemesis’ moniker. Olfi later says he’s using the name “to get myself to hate him a little bit.”

He also says he doesn’t mind where ever Roets wants to take the fight. “I know he’s going to push the pace, but I’m no easy match-up.”

We get the coaches’ challenge, which has Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko shooting hoops. As Dana White points out, “a minute into round one, it becomes clear that neither of these coaches know their way around a basketball court.” Their teams seem entertained as much for their foibles as for their skill, but Shevchenko does manage to pull out to a 6-2 lead. Valentina figures out that she can just forgo shooting 3-pointers and hit the net from close up, which leads to an 18-12 score after the second.

The third round sees Grasso try to drain some higher-point shots (with 1, 2, and 3 points available depending on where the coaches shoot from). That allows Shevchenko to slowly build up her lead, and she comes away with the win. Everyone on Valentina’s team gets $2000 as a result.

That actually leads to a confrontation between teams (or certain members of them), but cooler heads prevail.

In the meantime, Zygimantas Ramaska is sent to one of the UFC’s doctors for a second opinion, though he says he hasn’t experienced any symptoms despite the facial fracture. “I feel very comfortable clearing you for this fight,” the doc says following his exam.

Ramaska admits he’s worried he won’t be allowed to fight despite the good news, and is trying not to think about it. In the meantime, he says he believes his semifinal fight will be the fight of the season.

Both Roets and Ofli get to call home and talk to their families. Weigh-ins go off without a hitch, and it’s off to the fight!

The Ultimate Fighter 32: Roedie Roets vs. Kaan Ofli

This fight lasts seconds, not minutes. Roets shoots in, takes Kaan down, and Ofli catches him in a guillotine in a scramble. He locks it up, and forces the tap. That’s all, folks!

Official Result: Kaan Ofli def. Roedie Roets by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1 

Kaan Ofli says following the fight that he feels like he’s going to be both the Ultimate Fighter champion, and a future UFC champion. Roets, meanwhile, is heartbroken. “I cried my tears straight after the fight. It’s a hard pill to swallow,” he admits.

The post The Ultimate Fighter 32 Ep. 10: Kaan! appeared first on Cageside Press.

The semifinals kicked off on The Ultimate Fighter 32 this week, as the season draws nearer to completion.

Coincidentally, coaches Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko were just announced as the co-main event of Noche UFC (UFC 306), meaning the TUF 32 coaches fight arrives before the TUF 31 edition (that being Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler, assuming it’s still happening).

It’s the middleweights up first in the semifinals. “If you do one mistake, I will capitalize on it,” Team Grasso’s Omran Chaaban says, as we get a glimpse of him preparing to face Ryan Loder. “My biggest advantage in this fight, I feel like it’s everything. I feel like I will beat him everywhere.”

Later, Omran ominously states “my strategy is, punch a hole in his face.”

Ryan Loder, along with the rest of the semifinalists, gets to call home. That allows Loder to let slip just how he’d got the job done against Canada’s Tom Theocharis.

Speaking to his family “gave me new energy,” says Loder. “I know that I’m going to fight tooth and nail, as hard as I can. If I win, great, if I don’t, I know they’ll still be there to support me. It’s a great support system.”

Weigh-ins arrive, and Loder hits the scale without issue. Chaaban comes in just over on his first attempt, immediately strips down, and makes weight. The fight is official. Semifinal fights are three rounds instead of two this season, so there’s no sudden death – it’s 15 or less.

The Ultimate Fighter 32: Omran Chaaban vs. Ryan Loder

Round 1:

Lots of feeling out through the first two minutes as Chaaban and Loder get off to a slow start. The APEX is so quiet you could hear a pin drop, outside the odd corner hollering “good!” off the (very) rare connection. It’s all feints, feeling out, and shuffle-steps. The lack of action – Loder lands a kick here, Omran a jab there – makes it frustratingly difficult to score. The chess match continues right through to the final minute, with Loder finally shooting in and landing a takedown with about 45 seconds left on the clock. He batters the body with punches. Time runs out. The takedown likely wins him the round.

Round 2:

A little more action, back-and-forth on the feet to begin. This time, Loder nails the takedown about halfway into the round. Chaaban doesn’t stay down, but Loder stays on him. Has a body lock. Hits a trip, but Omran is right back up. Drags him down again. Loder nearly takes the back. Slips off, but is still on control. In the “PFL is getting a great undefeated fighter” era, the approach might not be wowing matchmakers, but it is winning Loder the fight.

Round 3:

We’re in full swing now. This feels like a live fight from the start of the round. After a round and a half of feeling out, both Loder and Chaaban feel a bit more comfortable. Key for Chaaban, he keeps things on the feet this round. He also presses the action a little more, after Loder had been walking him down earlier in the fight. Chaaban is looking to land a home for his uppercut. Finds moderate success in the third. Unfortunately for Chaaban, it’s not enough. Too little, too late with Loder winning on all three scorecards.

Official Result: Ryan Loder def. Omran Chaaban by unanimous decision

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The most recent instalment of The Ultimate Fighter 32 sees things shift back to the middleweight division, but first up, coach Valentina Shevchenko takes her team on a helicopter tour of Las Vegas. Rodie Roets calls the experience one of the best of his life. The team seems to think it’s a great break from the rigors of training.

Paddy McCorry is at the TUF house showing castmates photos of himself with his first amateur belt, and his grandfather. Of note, the Irish fighter is (in one photo) sporting a “Legalize Diaz” t-shirt. Fans will no doubt recognize what that’s in reference to. McCorry also speaks about “the troubles” in Belfast, and the “generational” trauma that remains, before showing off a bit of his training.

McCorry opens up about his struggles as a teen, drinking and partying. His refuge became the gym, with his goal to fulfill his potential as a mixed martial artist.

Opposite McCorry this week is Mark Hulme. Hailing from South Africa, Hulme calls his own teenage years “a tornado” due to medical issues, accidents and misfortunes. That included a dislocated ankle, while Hulme didn’t have medical coverage. After the ankle is fixed, he gets sideswiped on his motorcycle, injuring that same ankle all over again. Hulme winds up on the road, sleeping rough, sometimes without even a tent.

Both men seem to have been saved to some extent by MMA, which has put them on a collision course on The Ultimate Fighter 32. McCorry and Hulme make weight, and then it’s time for the final quarterfinal fight of the season.

The Ultimate Fighter 32: Paddy McCorry vs. Mark Hulme

Round 1:

Hulme connects early, then catches a leg and quickly takes the fight to the mat, getting on top. From there, he takes the back; McCorry gets up, but Hulme still has a body lock and drags him back down. McCorry works up again, but can’t shake Hulme off. The first half of the round is basically all Mark Hulme, and his dominant, blanket-like wrestling. McCorry’s biggest moments are simply making it to his feet. Just past the halfway mark, he eats a standing knee. But McCorry finally gets a moment to shine, pulling guard and locking up a choke! After being dominated for a full three minutes, McCorry forces the tap via guillotine, pulling off the comeback.

Official Result: Paddy McCorry def. Mark Hulme by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1

McCorry’s team tells him how he’s grown as a man and a fighter, as he heads off to the semifinal round. Hulme meanwhile isn’t making excuses. “At the end of the night, Paddy was the better fighter,” he tells the camera. Later, he adds “I’ll take this loss on the chin, like a man. I’ll keep my chin up high.”

Before episode’s end, Dana White interviews all the semifinalists, as well as the coaches.

When all is said and done, the semifinal match-ups break down as follows:

Middleweight

Omran Chaaban vs. Ryan Loder
Paddy McCorry vs. Robert Valentin

Featherweight

Kaan Ofli vs. Roedie Roets
Zygimantas Ramaska vs. Mairon Santos

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The latest installment of The Ultimate Fighter 32 opens with a recap of featherweight Edwin Cooper Jr.’s drinking problems, with Bekhzod Usmonov, a teammate at Jackson-Wink MMA, stepping in to curb the issue. There’s a real big question as to why the UFC allows alcohol in the TUF house at all, unless they’re aiming for this kind of drama, but hey, they’re all adults, right?

In any case, Cooper’s teammates seem to think he’s cleaned up his act. Now, he has a fight with Brazilian Mairon Santos lined up. Cooper’s coach, Shevchecko, feels he has the edge in several areas, from experience to wrestling. In the meantime, Santos gives a glimpse into his life, starting with the “humble home” in which he was raised. Cooper, meanwhile, spotlights his grandfather, “a man of principle,” his girlfriend, and his parents, who never failed to provide for him.

Weigh-ins arrive and go off without a hitch, though Santos has to strip down to hit 146.

The Ultimate Fighter 32: Edwin Cooper Jr. vs Mairon Santos

Round 1:

Cooper opens with an early takedown attempt, which Santos scrambles back from. Santos then goes on the attack, slinging leather, before Cooper looks for the takedown once again, and this time lands it! Cooper has Santos trapped against the fence, and threatens to take the back. Santos is able to post up and eventually get back to his feet, but Cooper is all over him with a body lock. He gets a hook in, Santos wins up back on his knees, and Cooper peppers his opponent with punches. Dominant round by Cooper.

Round 2:

Santos opens the round strong, connecting flush with his jab and forcing Cooper to retreat, back to the cage. This is a much better start for Santos, who avoids the takedown and has Cooper on the outside, playing a defensive game, for much of the frame. Santos mixes in kicks, and Cooper’s corner hollers that he has to “make some choices.” They implore him to shoot for a takedown, instead, Santos rips a nasty outside leg kick that connects. Finally, with one minute left, Cooper shoots, but Santos easily stuffs the attempt. The highlight of the round, Santos landing a nasty knee on Cooper.

Round 3:

Not surprisingly, the judges had things one round apiece, necessitating a third round. With Cooper struggling to find the takedown, the defense of Santos might be the story of the round. He stuffs multiple attempts, and works his hands early, while Cooper’s team hollers at him to keep at it, leading to shot after shot, seconds apart, attempts sometimes strung together. With one minute remaining, Cooper grabs a leg – but still can not finish the attempt. Finally, 35 seconds or so left on the clock, Cooper lands a takedown. Santos practically drags himself to the fence, and soon enough the horn has sounded and we head to the judges.

Dana White calls it really close, adding “you really could have given the win to either one of these guys.” Only one man can win, however, and it’s Santos.

Official Result: Mairon Santos def. Edwin Cooper Jr. by split decision

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Due to unforeseen circumstances, our Ultimate Fighter 32 recap is a little late this week. Better late than never! We’re coming off an incredible performance featuring Bekhzod Usmonov and Zygimantas Ramaska, the best performance and arguably one of the best fights, if not the best, in the past several seasons of TUF.

The has Dana White giving both teams a break, setting it up so they can watch a Fight Night at the TUF house. Team Shevchenko’s Edwin Cooper Jr., however, is sipping an unknown substance from an athletic drink bottle, and is a constant chatterbox. It’s assumed to be booze, and later confirmed as such when Cooper offers another fighter a sip.

Cooper later addresses the camera, a producer suggesting that he did “hit it hard.”

“I didn’t hit it hard. That ain’t hard,” Cooper replied, later added “Nothing going on besides getting ready to train and prepare for my fight.”

Cooper is then seen training for his fight, and he ends up elbowing Ryan Loder, who is not happy, telling Cooper off repeatedly for firing an elbow without elbow pads. Valentina Shevchenko tries to get them back to training, but things break down again. Shevchenko takes Loder to task for blowing up on Cooper again, after Cooper had already apologized repeatedly.

“We see this all the time on The Ultimate Fighter. This thing is a pressure cooker,” says Dana White, noting that being away from their families often causes things to boil over for fighters in the TUF house.

Cooper’s teammates then question whether he’s emptied a number of bottles of booze; he says he’s just had part of it. Bekhzod Usmonov, a teammate at Jackson-Wink MMA, then addresses Cooper, urging him to lay off the bottle. “No more drinking,” says Usmonov. “A bit,” replies Cooper.

Despite all the focus on Cooper, it’s Sacramento’s Ryan Loder competing this week. He’s shown snowboarding; he also surfs, spearfishes, goes diving, basically lots of outdoor activities. Loder also speaks of his struggles at school, but despite that, aimed for college with the support of his mother and wrestling coach, after learning he was dyslexic. After college, Loder wound up coaching wrestlers himself, with Urijah Faber offering to let them train at Team Alpha MMA (Team Alpha Male). Loder ended up training there as well, and was “talked into an amateur MMA fight.” From there, he fell in love with the sport, and his career took off.

“I’m not smart, but I work really hard. And I’ll be the next ultimate fighter,” says Loder.

Opponent Thomas Theocharis originates from Stratford, Ontario but now resides in Toronto in Canada. He sports a tattoo of his girlfriend, who passed away in 2021 after hitting her head in a fall while on a trip to Greece. “Sam was certainly the love of my life, and she was taken away very tragically.”

Theocharis turned to the late Elias Theodoreu after his girlfriend’s passing, eventually moving in with the Ultimate Fighter winner. Then, in September of 2022, Thedoreu passed way. Theocharis is left reeling, suffering from depression and anxiety. While the depression has mostly passed, he says, he still battles anxiety daily.

It’s time for weigh-ins for the middleweight pair. Both hit the mark, and it’s off to the races. Or the fight anyway.

The Ultimate Fighter 32: Loder vs. Theocharis

Round 1:

Loder vs. Theocharis opens with an early takedown from Loder, who begins pounding away with left hands. Theocharis is trapped again the fence, and Loder is in mount. Grasso urges him to use the fence to get up, but that proves easier said than done. Loder switches from ground n’ pound to an arm-triangle, and Theocharis is soon forced to tap. A quick one, as Loder eliminates the Canadian from the show.

Official Result: Ryan Loder def. Thomas Theocharis by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1

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It’s featherweights in action this week on The Ultimate Fighter 32, and we get a tour of Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, once home of Jon Jones and still home to the likes of Holly Holm and others. Bekhzod Usmonov is living in the dorms at the gym, working at Starbucks, taking university classes, and pursuing his MMA dream.

Usmonov, from Tajikistan, wants to inspire others to make the trip to the U.S. and pursue their dreams. “I will be the next Ultimate Fighter,” he proclaims. Coach Alexa Grasso touts “Beki’s” power and movement. We’re also treated to some BKFC highlights, as Usmonov is 2-0 for the bareknuckle promotion.

He’s taking on Zygimantas Ramaska, and Beki believes he can cut angles, and let rip his favorite combinations. Movement sounds like it’s going to be key.

Lithuanian Ramaska is a special forces fighter, who does “many crazy things,” he tells the camera in a solo shot. The includes wilderness training with his assault rife and 30kg pack. He’s also a dog person, so there’s some footage of his pooch that should tickle dog lovers (car ride complaints from a pup is a familiar sight for sure).

We are then introduced to Ramaska’s gym, which is located inside a Synagogue. That’s a new one.

Weigh-in day is not without drama. Bekhzod Usmonov misses weight by a half pound on his first attempt. Coach Grasso says he’ll cut it. Then, Ramaska misses as well. They’re both roughly a half-pound off. While they still have an hour to cut, the coaches and athletic commission agree to allow a catchweight.

They both could have made it, this simply saves sapping their energy. Dana White believes it’s a smart call. He’s soon proven right.

The Ultimate Fighter 32: Usmonov vs. Ramaska

Round 1:

All fights start on the feet, and this one is no exception. While much has been made throughout the episode of Bekhzod Usmonov’s size, he has considerable success early, darting in and out, letting hands go, and eventually putting Ramaska on the mat, knocking him off-balance, if not a knockdown. Usmonov struggles to take advantage however, contending with an upkick. He chops at the legs, but the ref eventually stands them up, and Ramaska goes to work, firing leg kicks and landing some heavy shots. Usmonov is under fire, and Dana White can be heard questioning “how much more of this the little dude can take.”

Right on cue, Usmonov then drops Ramaska and lands some smashing ground n’ pound— but the ref lets it go, Ramaska stays active, and gets to his feet. He then chases Usmonov down, clinches up, and rips some seriously nasty knees. There’s still time on the clock, and anyone watching no doubt wishes both of these guys were in the UFC, with fans watching this one live. Usmonov slows things down on the fence for just a moment, but they go back at it, and Ramaska chases Usmonov down again, landing knees and heavy shots. Usmonov is retreating, and firing back when he can. He gets tagged with a left hand and a head kick at the end of the round, and White jumps to his feet applauding.

Round 2:

There’s still another round, if not two, to go. That knockdown looms large, since Ramaska finished the frame strong, but was dropped. Grasso begs Usmonov to stay out of the clinch.

More stand-up action arrives early in the second round. Leg kicks, high kicks, and Ramaska again backing Usmonov up. He’s ripping the body and head, but Usmonov at least avoids the clinch. He fires a spinning back fist. Things slow a little about 90 seconds in, which given the breakneck pace of the first six and a half minutes isn’t surprising. Ramaska then lands a takedown, but Usmonov is up in about 15 seconds. Ramaska is really coming on strong. Usmonov is all heart. A front kick sneaks through and snaps Usmonov’s head back, about 30 seconds after he’s warned by the ref to fight back. He eats it, and keeps fighting. Ramaska is out-landing him at least three to one at this point, but can’t put Usmonov away. He finally goes for a takedown, lands it, then nearly fires an illegal knee, but pulls up as the ref warns him Usmonov is grounded. Smart work by the ref. White expects a third round, but instead, the judges have a decision. Which leads White to enter the cage and shake both men’s hand, calling the fight a war.

Ramaska gets the win on episode five of The Ultimate Fighter 32, but fans will no doubt want to see more of both of these two. “I’m going to work on my mistakes, and come back stronger,” Usmonv says following the bout. Ramaska notes that he still has more work to do, so he can’t celebrate just yet.

The post The Ultimate Fighter 32 Ep. 5: Two Fighters Miss Weight, Then Put on Season’s Best fight appeared first on Cageside Press.