The Ultimate Fighter 32: Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko Episode 1 results
- Episode 1 of The Ultimate Fighter 32 sees Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko lead their teams in a battle for victory.
Rivals Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are leading The Ultimate Fighter as they prepare for another season of intense conflict.
In addition to celebrating the start of the 32nd season of the enduring reality series, Tuesday’s premiere also honored the 20th anniversary of TUF, which started filming in 2004 and aired its first episode in January 2005. In honor of the event and the UFC’s international growth, TUF 32 includes 16 fighters from 14 different nations, in addition to two prominent coaches who were not born in the United States: Shevchenko of Kyrgyzstan and Grasso of Mexico.
Before choosing their teams, the coaches assess a roster of middleweights and featherweights at the start of episode 1. After winning a coin toss, Grasso chooses to go with countryman Guillermo Torres as her initial featherweight choice, with Shevchenko selecting the first two bouts.
Robert Valentin of Switzerland is the middleweight Grasso chooses as her first choice. Shevchenko, who trained with Valentin at Tiger Muay Thai, makes jokes about how Grasso snatched one of her fighters. Shevchenko’s initial selections are Shamidkhan Magomedov of Russia and Roedie Roets of South Africa.
Check out the final team rosters below.
Group Grasso
Lightweights
Mexico’s Guillermo Torres (7-1)
Australia’s Kaan Ofli (10-2-1)
Tajikistan’s Bekhzod Usmonov (11-4)
Brazil’s Mairon Santos (13–1)
medleys
Switzerland’s Robert Valentin (10–3)
Ireland’s Paddy McCorry (4-1)
Finland’s Omran Chaaban (6-1)
Canadian Tom Theocharis (9-5)
Lightweights
South African Roedie Roets (7-1)
Ramaska, Zygimantas (Lithuania) (9-2)
England’s Nathan Fletcher (8-1)
USA’s Edwin Cooper Jr. (6-1)
medleys
Russia’s Shamidkhan Magomedov (7-1)
Giannis Bachar (Greece) (9-2) Mark Hulme (South Africa) (12-3) Ryan Loder (USA) (6-1)
Shevchenko names her squad “Team Bullet” after the team selections and gives a bullet to each of her fighters as well as UFC CEO Dana White.
In the season’s opening bout, Shevchenko puts her top featherweight prospect, Roedie Roets, up against Grasso’s top choice, Guillermo Torres. With Roets favoring his grappling and Torres having competed in wrestling at the 2012 London Olympics, it seems to be a matchup of wrestlers.
Following two close rounds in which each fighter gets an opportunity to work from the top position, the larger Roets wins a tight third round by hitting more effective blows both on the ground and in standup. At 37, Torres is ten years Roets’ senior, and it looks like he runs out of gas in the last round, which allows Roets to gain the upper hand on the scorecards.
With the victory, Shevchenko gains a 1-0 lead over Grasso, the current UFC flyweight champion, in her coaching battle on TUF 32. Having submitted Shevchenko at UFC 285 and then just escaping with a split draw in their rematch at Noche UFC, Grasso has the advantage in their two-fight series.
Additionally, Shevchenko selects the opening middleweight bout, scheduled for next week. Shamidkhan Magomedov, her first choice, faces Omran Chaaban, Grasso’s third choice.
Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ are when The Ultimate Fighter 32 airs live.
Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are anticipated to square off in a flyweight championship trilogy match at a later date after the season finale.
At the live finale of TUF 32, the winners of the middleweight and featherweight divisions will also square off for a six-figure UFC deal. Additionally, no date has been set for that event.
The current quarterfinal standings are as follows:
Guillermo Torres lost to Roedie Roets by decision.
Roets advances to the semifinals.
Removed: Torres
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