The Ultimate Fighter
Episode 10 Recap | The Ultimate Fighter Season 32
Who Will Be The First Middleweight To Advance To The Finals?
Previously on The Ultimate Fighter…
Team Shevchenko’s Roedie Roets advanced to the semifinals after a hard-fought, three-round battle against Team Grasso’s top pick, Guillermo Torres, while Team Grasso’s Kaan Olfi punched his ticket to the next round with a dominant decision win over Nathan Fletcher.
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Now, it’s South Africa versus Australia in the first featherweight semifinal matchup.
Who will move on to the live finale and a chance to add their name to the roll call of former Ultimate Fighter winners?
CANYON ORAL & FACIAL SURGERY
Zygimantas Ramaska walks into Canyon Oral & Facial Surgery, as UFC CEO Dana White explains that after his war with Bekhzod Usmonov, the Team Shevchenko featherweight needed to get checked out ahead of his fight with Mairon Santos.
The scan reveals a small fracture in his cheekbone. Ramaska says he didn’t feel like anything was wrong, and that his intention is to continue on and not allow Santos to win the fight by walkover. The surgeon says the injury should not prevent him from competing.
TUF HOUSE
Fletcher talks to Ofli about the matchups on the featherweight side of the bracket, with both agreeing that the pairings are the “correct” matchups given the remaining competitions.
Ofli jokes in an interstitial interview that he’s fighting “Voldemort,” the villainous wizard from the Harry Potter series, suggesting that he has the tools to best Roets. He and Fletcher then chirp to Santos about the weight he has to cut ahead of his next fight as he opens the fridge.
How To Watch Season 32 Of The Ultimate Fighter
The Australian shares that he’s confident against anyone, and Fletcher suggests that he’s convinced Ofli can go all the way based on his performance against him in the quarterfinals. Ofli acknowledges the awkwardness of having to get right back to work after winning his fight, as opposed to the traditional cycle of taking a couple weeks off and enjoying the victory, but he wants to maintain these habits going forward.
Roets speaks about the first victory being behind him and there being more of the mission to complete as he readies to face Ofli. He likes the matchup, calling the Team Grasso man the toughest fight for him, which he welcomes. This is all about testing himself, and he promises violence and entertainment.
KAAN OFLI FIGHT PREP
Ofli hits the UFC PI to speak with Grasso while getting some cardio in, outlining how he wants to approach the fight with Roets before going through a mitt session with “Pancho” Grasso.
The flyweight champ breaks down how they’re approaching the fight with Roets, with coach Colin Daynes suggesting knees will be available and more effective than punches. Ofli is aware of how things can play out, forecasting a potential submission in the midst of a scramble. Grasso talks about the work Ofli and Daynes have been doing, so it will be interesting to see how that translates into the fight.
“I feel like my biggest advantages are going to be everywhere,” he says. “I’m no easy match for him.”
LAS VEGAS ACES HEADQUARTERS
The teams and the coaches drop into the headquarters of the two-time defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, where they’re greeted by star guard and massive UFC fan Kelsey Plum, who will run the Coaches Challenge this season.
The coaches will shoot hoops and whoever scores the most points before time runs out is the winner, with the winning coach earning $10,000 and each fighter on the winning team netting $2,000.
Shevchenko can’t remember the last time she played basketball, guessing that it was years ago in school.
Plum explains the rules of the competition, which will consist of three, two-minute rounds, with the coaches able to shoot from various points on the court, each of which has a different point value. Whoever has the most points at the end of the three rounds will be declared the winner.
TUF 32 RECAPS: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8 | Episode 9
Grasso acknowledges that she hasn’t shot a basketball in ages either, so this should be even, at least in terms of the level of skill the rivals bring to the court.
Shevchenko wins the first round 6-2… which is extremely low-scoring given that they have wide open opportunities from as close to the hoop as they would like.
Both coaches get some insights and advice from their teams, but it’s more of the same to start the second round. Shevchenko starts piling up singles, extending her lead, with White laughing about her effective, but perhaps not that entertaining strategy. After Round 2, it’s 18-12 Shevchenko.
Plum recommends Grasso move back and shoot from further out — which would mean more points — given that she’s trailing, while Roets encourages Shevchenko for her efforts thus far. Shevchenko resumes netting singles, while Grasso is trying to knock down some two or three-point shots.
Shevchenko drops a couple shots from further out late in the final round to further extend her lead, celebrating with her team once time runs out. She wins the competition and $10,000, and everyone on the team gets a two grand payout, as well.
Grasso apologizes to her team, who again tell her the most important thing is that they’re winning fights, with Plum them passing along the comment to the Team Shevchenko athletes, trying to stir up a little trouble.
Robert Valentin calls Team Shevchenko a “basketball team” and it gets under the skin of Shamidkhan Magomedov, who approaches him about it, unhappy with his comments. Valentin condescendingly explains he was joking and that he’s not going to change what he says to appease Magomedov, with Giannis Bachar then trying to instigate something with Omran Chaaban a little before both sides go their separate ways.
UFC PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE
White explains that while the facial surgeon didn’t think the injury would impact Ramaska’s ability to compete, they wanted a second opinion, sending the Team Shevchenko featherweight to speak with the UFC’s chief physician, Dr. Jeffrey Davidson.
Ramaska says he’s felt fine since the fight before doing some tests and getting checked out. Dr. Davidson doesn’t see any issues and is happy to clear him to fight. The Lithuanian acknowledges that there is five percent of him that is worried he won’t get cleared, but he’s hopeful things work out and he can complete.
TUF HOUSE
Roets speaks with his parents back home in South Africa, admitting afterwards that it was hard to not get too emotional connecting with them as his mother is shown tearing up while his father offers him encouragement.
ROEDIE ROETS FIGHT PREP
The South African goes through his final preparations, with Shevchenko suggesting he just needs to be himself, holding the advantage everyone in the fight with Ofli. He says he wants it to be like his first fight, focusing on pushing the pace and outwrestling his Australian counterpart.
Shevchenko encourages Roets to not wait, discussing the various positions where he might be able to thrive. The two have clearly built a solid bond, with Roets answering, “Yes, Coach” to everything Shevchenko suggests.
“I can see me and him fighting for our lives,” says Roets. “I’ve got a good feeling that this will be the fight of the season.”
TUF HOUSE
Ofli has his call home, jumping in to speak with his wife.
The Australian jokes about the other team not doing any cleaning before explaining that he’s gone through to the second round with a win over Fletcher. His wife gives him her insights, which are pretty spot-on, having watched his fights, which brings a huge smile to his face.
It’s cool to see the amazing connection they have.
FEATHERWEIGHT SEMIFINAL WEIGH-INS
Roets is up first on the scale, with the South African coming in at 145.5 pounds. Ofli follows, weighing in at 145.5 pounds, as well.
The fight is official.
Will it be Australia or South Africa that lands a fighter in the finale?
TUF HOUSE
Roets prays with fellow South African and Team Shevchenko fighter Mark Hulme, expressing in an interstitial interview that he’s always been pretty private about his faith, believing he has travelled a unique, deeper path than others.
He explains how being able to share these experiences with Hulme has been greatly beneficial to him.
FIGHT DAY
Ofli goes through some shadowboxing and warmups in the backyard with Torres before decamping for the UFC APEX. He walks into the back, gets a warm welcome from his coaches and teammates, and gets wrapped and ready to go.
Roets does the same, suggesting he does all this for South Africa and because of “the strength of my people.” He’s dialed in and focused in the back, getting final instructions from Shevchenko before heading to the cage.
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“It’s very difficult not having my father with me, especially in the most important fight of my life,” Roets says in an interstitial interview as he’s showed preparing to make the walk. “I still feel your guidance, I still feel your presence. Just as much as I’m fighting for myself, Dad, I’m fighting for you.
“I miss you and I love you so much.”
Kaan Ofli vs. Roedie Roets
It didn’t take long for Ofli to punch his ticket to the finale.
As soon as the fight began, Roets crashed the distance looking for the takedown, dragging the Australian to the canvas, but in doing so, he left his head outside and his neck exploded. Ofli quickly locked up the guillotine choke and Roets was left with no choice but to tap.
Official Result: Kaan Ofli def. Roedie Roets by submission (guillotine choke) in Round 1
Kaan Ofli Talks Semifinal Win Over Roets | The Ultimate Fighter Season 32
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Kaan Ofli Talks Semifinal Win Over Roets | The Ultimate Fighter Season 32
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Ofli calls it “easy work” while celebrating before the coaches and White break down the rapid encounter.
Shevchenko laughs that Roets did “the opposite of everything I told him,” explaining that she wanted him to be patient and feel Ofli’s strength first. Grasso points out that Roets was a little rushed and left his neck exposed on the first takedown, giving Ofli the read he needed to secure the finish when he got brought back to the canvas.
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“Roedie got too aggressive, and it cost him,” says White. “You cannot do that against a high-level Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt.”
The Australian is understandably pumped to advance, while Roets is rightfully gutted to have been beaten so quickly, breaking down in the locker room with his teammates, who do their best to support him.
Up next, it’s the All-Grasso middleweight semifinal between Valentin and Paddy McCorry.
Alexa Grasso Reacts To Kaan Ofli's Semifinal Win | The Ultimate Fighter Season 32
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Alexa Grasso Reacts To Kaan Ofli's Semifinal Win | The Ultimate Fighter Season 32
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On the Next Episode of The Ultimate Fighter…
With only two fights remaining, Grasso finally takes her team out on the town before the middleweight teammates go head-to-head for a spot on the finale.
It’s Switzerland versus Ireland with a spot opposite Ryan Loder on the line.
