Episode 12 Recap | The Ultimate Fighter Season 32

Team Shevchenko rolls into the UFC Performance Institute and Ramaska starts going through his fight prep, still unsure of whether he’ll be able to compete or not. Shevchenko makes sure to have Ramaska dial back a little on his training because of the injury and to ensure he’s healthy, acknowledging that it’s difficult for him to turn right back around after the type of battle he had with Usmonov earlier.

“But you know,” begins Shevchenko, “this is how champions are born.”

Ramaska believes he has a striking advantage in his potential matchup with Santos, saying that he’ll still go forward even if he’s dealing with a broken nose or something of that nature. He’s certain that after this fight, someone is going straight to the hospital.

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TUF HOUSE

Ramaska speaks with his sister back home in Lithuania, with both looking super-happy to reconnect. He explains everything that has been going on, both in terms of the challenges of living in the house, and the competition itself.

Then Santos gets his call, where he speaks with his wife. He’s beaming as he explains what it meant to him to speak with her in an interstitial interview. She encourages him and you can see how much it inspired him to get to speak with her and reconnect, even if only for 15 minutes.

MAIRON SANTOS FIGHT PREP

Santos goes through his training session, still unsure who he’s going to fight next, explaining that preparing for three possible opponents is extremely difficult. He’s shifted from thinking about a specific strategy to focusing on ensuring he’s at his very best, no matter who he steps in there against.

Grasso acknowledges that it’s weird having Torres readying to potentially step in against Santos, and that she needs to remove herself in some ways from the coaching. Santos, who shares a room with Torres, calls him a close friend and says the possibility of fighting him sucks.

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Grasso is concerned about Santos’ weight, understandably, as he’s one of the bigger featherweights in the house and making weight for a second time in such a short period is extra challenging. He’s six pounds over after a check following some time on the assault bike, and admits he understands where his coach’s concern comes from.

“Alexa, my coach — my beloved coach — don’t worry: I will make it and we will celebrate,” Santos says with a smile.

FEATHERWEIGHT SEMIFINAL WEIGH-IN

Ramaska is first on the scale, coming in at 145.5 pounds. Santos follows, getting into the covered box looking drawn out. He’s 148 pounds and has one hour to lose two pounds in order to make weight.

He heads to the UFC PI, hits the sauna, and is brought back to weigh-in for a second time. This time, he’s 146.5 pounds, leaving him a half pound over.

Shevchenko, who wasn’t in the room when Santos weighed in for a second time, speaks with Grasso, Santos, and NSAC executive director Jeff Mullen, asking his weight. Shevchenko says the fight can go forward, acknowledging the difficulty of the situation, and Santos apologizes to Ramaska, who quickly tells him everything is okay as they agree to compete.

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They face off and the final featherweight matchup is official… almost.

Both Torres and Cooper Jr. weigh in just in case they’re required to sub in for Ramaska, with the former coming in at 145 pounds and the latter weighing 145.5 pounds.

FIGHT DAY

Santos heads into the UFC APEX, still unsure who he is going to face, checking in with his team, eager to step into the cage and compete. He and Grasso talk through ideas for how to approach each potential opponent.

Ramaska rolls in and heads to his locker room. While he’s getting his hands wrapped, he and Shevchenko are pulled out of the locker room to go speak with Mullen and the NSAC doctor. Mullen informs him that he will not be cleared to compete.

Shevchenko asks why this information wasn’t conveyed the previous day, with Mullen explaining the doctors made their decision on the day of the fight. Ramaska is understandably devastated, as is Shevchenko.

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“This journey is finished right now,” Ramaska says in an interstitial interview, tears welling up in his eyes. “It’s not an easy time right now.”

Grasso is brought back to speak with Mullen, who informs her that Ramaska has not been cleared to compete, and that Torres will be able to step in and compete against Santos. She goes back and tells Torres that he’ll be fighting, as he had more time to recover since his last fight than Cooper Jr., who is a little annoyed that he made weight and will not be able to fight.

Grasso explains that she will not be coaching either side, and the roommates get set to make the walk and compete, with a place in the finale on the line.

Mairon Santos vs Guillermo Torres

Mairon Santos is going to the featherweight finale after earning a unanimous decision win over over fellow Team Grasso representative Guillermo Torres.

The young Brazilian was the quicker and sharper of the two on the feet throughout their impromptu semifinal pairing, doing an excellent job of picking his spots and stinging Torres when he came forward while stifling his occasional attempts to wrestle. Though his pace slowed as the fight progressed, Santos continued to dictate the terms of engagement, using long strikes at range to keep Torres on the outside and quickly extricating himself from any and all grappling entanglements.

When the final horn sounded, there was no question that Santos had done enough to garner the victory and secure his place opposite Ofli in the featherweight finale.

Official Result: Mairon Santos defeats Guillermo Torres by unanimous decision