TUF 32 begins airing next week on June 4th and I wanted to take some time to research the announced roster. This will be a short breakdown of all the fighters touching on their backgrounds, who they train with and a first glance impression of their fighting styles. I will include a link to a fight for each fighter that in my opinion illustrates their fighting style. If this gets good feedback I will put together a similar post for the Middleweight roster. Lets get into it!

Edwin Cooper Jr (6-1)

Training out of Jackson Wink MMA, Cooper has a decent level of competition under his belt already with several fights in LFA and an appearance on the PFL Challenger Series with a combined opponent record of 23-6-1. A graduate of the University of Iowa where he competed in wrestling and was regularly a top competitor, Cooper relies mostly on a ground and pound style, prioritizing position over submission. He is well rounded with his striking and uses it effectively to get to the takedown.

Nathan Fletcher (8-1)

Training out of Next Generation MMA with the likes of Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann, Fletcher has spent the entirety of his career in Cage Warriors, with a combined opponent record of 49-10, competing at Bantamweight where he also spent most of his Amateur career at 18 years old where he went 6-1. Fletcher has excellent BJJ, is incredibly slick with his transitions and is not afraid to throw elbows from top position. Fletcher was undoubtedly on his way to the UFC but unfortunately was sidelined with a medical issue in late 2023 preventing him from competing for the CW Bantamweight Title delaying a UFC debut. Fletcher should be the favorite to win the 145 lb bracket.

Zygimantas Ramaska (9-2)

Training out of Ukmerge Judo Club and a World Combat Sambo champion at 71kgs, winning gold in 2021, Ramaska has competed in local Lithuania organizations since 2016 from the age of 18 with a combined opponent record of 85-29-5. Ramaska shows a well rounded game with several wins by both KO and Submission but is a brawler at heart in contrast to his Sambo background. He uses all his weapons well throwing powerful strikes with his hands, legs and knees. Ramaska is relentless when he has his opponent hurt but also has a tendency to brawl while chasing the finish and may also lack cardio with no wins on his record by decision.

Roedie Roets (7-1)

Training out of Guts and Glory MMA in South Africa, Roets became an IMMAF World Champion at 155 lbs in 2016 before competing professionally for the premier South African organization EFC with a combined opponent record of 30-23-1. Roets began his amateur career winning with a wide variation of submissions including armbars, key locks and heel hooks but has won the majority of his professional bouts via KO/TKO. Roets lacks competition against experienced opponents which is common for South African fighters. Regardless, Roets is an exciting fighter and has one of the most interesting submissions I've seen in a long time in which he submitted Serge Kasanda by rear naked choke from the north/south position.

Bekhzod Usmonov (11-4)

Our second fighter training out of Jackson Wink MMA, Usmonov is the first fighter in TUF history to directly come from competing in Bare Knuckle Boxing where he has a record of 1-1 with the loss being to Jimmie Rivera. If he were to join the UFC I’m fairly sure he would also be the first fighter on the roster to have experience in that organization. Usmonov is likely the most pure striker on the TUF roster having also competed in Muay Thai with a record of 37-5-1 and lacks competition against experienced MMA fighters with a combined opponent record of 49-31. Usmonov is also one of the smaller fighters this season to compete at 145, having competed as low as Flyweight during his MMA career but as of recently competed in bare knuckle at 150lbs. Usmonov should be an interesting addition to the roster with a different skill set than the UFC is usually looking to add to the TUF rosters.

Guillermo Torres (7-1)

Fighting out of Mexico, Torres is a wrestler turned KO artist and the oldest fighter on the TUF roster at 37 years old. Guillermo Torres achieved Silver in Freestyle Wrestling at the Pan American Games all the way back in 2011 and has since transitioned to MMA making his debut at CBF MMA on an episode of Dana Whites Lookin’ For a Fight in 2018. He currently trains under the tutelage of Henry Cejudo where he was his primary training partner for his fight with Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288. Torres has clearly adapted some of Cejudos fighting style into his own. He can fight from both southpaw and orthodox and has a well rounded striking style with most of his wins coming by KO/TKO including one by body kick.

Kaan Ofli (11-2-1)

Training out of Absolute MMA and Conditioning in Australia and the child of Turkish Immigrants, Ofli has spent most of his career competing in local organizations like Eternal and Hex where he became their 145lb champion. Ofli is a patient and well rounded fighter but still relies mostly on his wrestling to get the job done. Ofli defense leaves a lot to be desired. He takes a lot of damage in his fights but has never been finished and has mostly been able to stay in the fight against more experienced strikers due to his iron chin. Back in 2018 Ofli was featured on an episode of Rich Franklins ONE Warrior Series in which he speaks in great detail about financial and family hardship. Ofli lost his father who had just come back into his life, was hospitalized due to a car accident and was fired from his job because of it, all within the space of a month. Ofli will definitely be featured as one of the bigger sob stories of the season.

Mairon Santos (13-1)

Training out of Parana Vale Tudo in Brasil, Santos is a powerful striker that does not lack BJJ or grappling experience. Santos has been competing in Brasil since he was 18 years old and is the youngest fighter on the roster at 23. Santos fights with an upright Muay Thai style similar to fighters coming out of Chute Box. With a 54% finish rate, all by KO, Santos’s sole loss came from another TUF alumni, Daniel Arguetta under the LFA banner. As the youngest fighter on the roster it is expected Santos would lack experience against top opponents with a combined opponent record of (67-56) but as of recently has taken on greater challenges while competing for LFA and Shoot Brasil.