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The Ultimate Fighter is gearing up for another season of drama with rivals Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko at the helm.

Tuesday’s premiere not only marked the 32nd season of the long-running reality series, it is also the 20th anniversary of TUF, which began taping in 2004 (and later aired its first episode in January 2005). To commemorate the occasion and UFC’s global expansion, TUF 32 features not only a pair of star coaches born outside of the United States in Mexico’s Grasso and Kyrgyzstan’s Shevchenko, but a 16-fighter cast representing 14 different countries.

Episode 1 begins with the coaches evaluating a roster of middleweights and featherweights before selecting their teams. Grasso wins a coin toss that allows her to make the first selection (meaning Shevchenko will pick the first two fights) and she goes with countryman Guillermo Torres as her first featherweight pick.

For her first middleweight pick, Grasso selects Switzerland’s Robert Valentin. Shevchenko jokes that Grasso stole one of her fighters as she has trained with Valentin at Tiger Muay Thai. Shevchenko’s first picks are South Africa’s Roedie Roets and Russia’s Shamidkhan Magomedov.

See how the team rosters ended up below.

Team Grasso

Featherweights

1. Guillermo Torres (Mexico) (7-1)
2. Kaan Ofli (Australia) (10-2-1)
3. Bekhzod Usmonov (Tajikistan) (11-4)
4. Mairon Santos (Brazil) (13-1)

Middleweights

1. Robert Valentin (Switzerland) (10-3)
2. Paddy McCorry (Ireland) (4-1)
3. Omran Chaaban (Finland) (6-1)
4. Tom Theocharis (Canada) (9-5)

Team Shevchenko

Featherweights

1. Roedie Roets (South Africa) (7-1)
2. Zygimantas Ramaska (Lithuania) (9-2)
3. Nathan Fletcher (England) (8-1)
4. Edwin Cooper Jr. (USA) (6-1)

Middleweights

1. Shamidkhan Magomedov (Russia) (7-1)
2. Mark Hulme (South Africa) (12-3)
3. Ryan Loder (USA) (6-1)
4. Giannis Bachar (Greece) (9-2)

Following the team selections, Shevchenko dubs her squad “Team Bullet” and hands out a bullet to each of her fighters, as well as UFC CEO Dana White.

The first matchup of the season falls in Shevchenko’s hands and she selects her No. 1 featherweight Roedie Roets to fight Grasso’s No. 1 pick Guillermo Torres. It promises to be a battle of wrestlers, with Roets favoring his grappling and Torres having wrestled at the 2012 London Olympics.

After two competitive rounds that sees both fighters have their chance to work from top position, a tense third is decided by the larger Roets landing better punches in the standup and on the ground. Torres — 10 years Roets’ senior at 37 — appears to gas out in the final round, opening the door for Roets to pull ahead on the scorecards.

With the win, Shevchenko takes a 1-0 advantage in her TUF 32 coaching matchup against Grasso, the UFC’s reigning flyweight champion. Grasso has the edge in her two-fight series with Shevchenko, having submitted her at UFC 285 and then narrowly escaping with a split draw in their rematch at Noche UFC.

Shevchenko also picks the first middleweight fight, which takes place next week. Her No. 1 pick Shamidkhan Magomedov takes on Grasso’s No. 3 pick Omran Chaaban.

The Ultimate Fighter 32 airs live every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Following the season finale, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are expected to face off in a flyweight championship trilogy bout at a date still to be determined.

The finalists of the TUF 32 middleweight and featherweight tournaments will also compete for a six-figure UFC contract at the show’s live finale. A date for that event is also yet to be announced.

Here are the quarterfinal results so far:

Roedie Roets def. Guillermo Torres via decision

Advancing to semifinals: Roets

Eliminated: Torres

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UFC’s return to Denver is starting to fill up.

On Tuesday night, UFC CEO Dana White announced four bouts for the July 13 event, including the card’s previously reported headliner Maycee Barber vs. Rose Namajunas.

Joining Barber vs. Namajunas on the scheduled lineup are a trio of welterweight fights: Mike Malott vs. Gilbert Urbina, Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov, and Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa.

Malott (10-2-1) looks to rebound after suffering his first UFC loss at the hands of Neil Magny in January. He takes on Urbina (7-3), who most recently suffered a first-round knockout loss at the hands of Charlie Radtke in February. Malott is widely considered to be one of Canada’s top UFC prospects.

Longtime veterans Ponzinibbio (29-7) and Salikhov (19-5) collide with both men in dire need of a win after each losing three of their past four UFC bouts, respectively.

Likewise, both Bonfim (15-1) and Loosa (10-3) look to get back on track after failing to win in their most recent outings. Bonfim saw his undefeated run come to an end at the hands of a second-round knockout against Nicolas Dalby, while Loosa’s win streak was snapped courtesy of a no-contest due to an accidental eye poke against Bryan Battle.

UFC Denver takes place at the Ball Arena and marks the promotion’s first return to the city since November 2018. Top flyweights Barber and Namajunas compete in the five-round headliner.

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Cryptic
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Dustin Poirier’s third attempt at undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) gold didn’t unfold as he hoped.

UFC 302 saw the reigning Lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, successfully defend his throne for the third time, tying the divisional record when he locked in the fifth round d’arce choke for the win (watch highlights). Makhachev can now expect his fourth defense to come in a rematch of his clash with the No. 1-ranked contender, Arman Tsarukyan, from April 2019.

Tsarukyan, 27, was the first choice to be Makhachev’s dance partner at UFC 302 this past weekend (June 1, 2024). However, the offer came too soon for Tsarukyan when he was asked immediately after his split decision win over the former champion, Charles Oliveira, at UFC 300 in April 2024. Watching the recent title fight, Makhachev was disappointed in his teammate at American Top Team (ATT), Poirier.

“The first round went to Makhachev,” Tsarukyan told Outside MMA (h/t Championship Rounds). “I thought, ‘Damn, this Poirier is a complete sack.’ Then I saw that Poirier turned on, and Islam got tired and the fight became more interesting. Poirier surprised me. To be honest, I was more surprised by Islam, why he got tired so quickly and couldn’t fight.

“As we know, Islam doesn’t breathe that well in five round fights,” he continued. “This is the second five-round fight and he’s giving away the endings. I wonder where Islam found the strength to choke, but I have a feeling that Poirier just gave up. In terms of being mentally broken. There were 2.5 minutes left. Why are you giving up your neck? Well, endure it, get over it, do something, but don’t give up. There are 2.5 minutes left, your last fight, this is the most important and last fight in your life. You take it and just give it away. I wouldn’t just give it up.”

The aforementioned first Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan bout was the latter’s debut in UFC. Since then, Tsarukyan has established himself as one of the division’s elite. The champion, Makhachev, has targeted a possible “dream” title defense inside Madison Square Garden in November 2024.

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UFC 302 only delivered three finishes over a 12-fight card, but that didn’t stop several athletes from getting banged up this past Saturday night in Newark, N.J.

On Tuesday, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board released the event’s medical suspensions, and both the main event and co-main event produced potentially long layoffs.

At the top of the card, Dustin Poirier put up a valiant effort but ultimately came up short against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, losing via fifth-round submission. Post-fight, Poirier confessed that his nose got smashed during the bout and he also suffered some sort of leg injury during a third-round takedown attempt against the cage.

As a result, Poirier has been issued an indefinite suspension from the commission pending clearance by an ear, nose, and throat doctor for his nose injury. He also requires orthopedist clearance for the left knee injury he suffered in the fight.

As of now, Poirier is still pondering a potential retirement from the sport, so his eventual clearance by physicians may not matter if he decides not to return to the UFC.

In the co-main event, Sean Strickland earned a win over Paulo Costa but now faces an indefinite suspension pending an x-ray of his left tibia as well as clearance by an orthopedist for the injury to his left tibia/leg. Based on the language of the suspension, Strickland may have suffered some sort of fracture in his leg, although the commission wants him to get that examined to verify the potential nature of the injury

As for Costa, he put on a listless performance en route to losing a split decision during the five-round fight. Now Costa also faces an indefinite suspension until he’s cleared by an orthopedist for a right ankle/foot injury suffered in the fight.

He also must sit out for a mandatory 30 days along with 14 days of no contact even if his foot/ankle ends up being cleared sooner.

Likewise, Michael Oleksiejczuk also faces an indefinite suspension after his arm was snapped from a first-round submission applied by Kevin Holland. The extent of the damage is still unknown, but Oleksiejczuk must gain clearance from an orthopedist for his right arm/elbow before he’s allowed to compete again.

Here is the full list of UFC 302 medical suspensions:

• Islam Makhachev: 30 day suspension/no contact due to facial lacerations
• Dustin Poirier: Indefinite suspension pending ENT clearance for nose, orthopedist clearance for left knee
• Sean Strickland: 30 day suspension/no contact. Indefinite suspension pending x-ray on left tibia, orthopedist clearance on left tibia/leg
• Paulo Costa: 30 day suspension, 14 days no contact. Indefinite suspension pending orthopedist clearance of right ankle/foot
• Michal Oleksiejczuk: Indefinite suspension pending orthopedist clearance for right elbow/arm
• Randy Brown: Indefinite suspension pending x-ray right big toe, pending orthopedist clearance of right big toe
• Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos: Indefinite suspension pending ophthalmologist exam clearance
• Jailton Almeida: Indefinite suspension pending MRI left knee, pending orthopedist clearance for left knee
• Grant Dawson: 30 day suspension, no contact for left eyebrow laceration
• Bassil Hafez: 30 day suspension, no contact
• Mickey Gall: 14 day suspension mandatory, indefinite suspension pending nephrology clearance
• Ailin Perez: 30 day suspension, no contact. Indefinite suspension pending oral surgeon clearance of jaw
• Jocelyne Edwards: 30 day suspension, no contact. Indefinite suspension pending x-ray right thumb

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One MMA fan paid almost 100k for a unique experience with Charles Oliveira.

During the annual Instituto Projeto Neymar auction on Monday night in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a Russian businessman paid a whopping $ 95,000 for an experience that will allow him to watch former lightweight world champion Charles Oliviera train for his next fight. But the fun won’t stop there.

The man, identified as Roman Shpigel, will then fly to wherever his next fight takes place and watch him cut weight before joining Oliveira’s team for the post-weigh-ins day. The package deal also includes two tickets to the event.

The UFC has not yet announced when, where, or who ‘Do Bronx’ will fight after coming up short against Arman Tsarukyan at the promotion’s landmark event in Las Vegas.

Aside from the experience with Charles Oliveira, Shpigel paid a hefty price for a couple of other unique offerings

This year’s auction broke last year’s record, bringing in a total of $ 5.1 million. For those unfamiliar Neymar’s institute supports around 3,000 kids and teenagers from Jardim Gloria, Praia Grande. Neymar, a Brazilian soccer star who currently plays for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, was one of the top-10 highest-paid athletes of 2024 per Forbes with more than $ 100 million in earnings

He also announced an additional $ 5.1 million donation to Rio Grande do Sul, the Brazilian state recently affected by flooding.

Shpigel also purchased two other experiences, paying $ 190,000 to visit Neymar’s home and another six figures for an experience with Brazilian soccer team Flamengo and a barbecue at Leo Pereira’s house

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Former Cage Warriors champion and UFC veteran Stevie Ray headlines the first PFL card in his native Scotland against Lewis Long on Sept. 28, the company announced Tuesday.

The card takes place at the OVO Hydro arena in Glasgow. Scottish lightweight Robert Whiteford takes on longtime MMA veteran Roger Huerta in an 150-pound co-main event.

Ray (25-13) looks to break a four-fight losing streak when he enters the cage in his home country. In total, “Braveheart” won two of six appearances under the PFL banner, both over ex-UFC and WEC champion Anthony Pettis.

Wales’ Long (19-7) makes his promotional debut after going 3-2 with a trio of submission victories for Bellator between 2019 and 2022.

Whiteford (16-5, 1 NC) joins PFL for the first time after going 1-1 with one no-contest in Bellator. Whiteford previously went 2-3 in the UFC, earning victories over Daniel Pineda and Paul Redmond.

Huerta (23-13-1, 1 NC) has fought all over the world for UFC, Bellator, ONE Championship, and more. A 41-year-old veteran with more than two decades of experience and wins over the likes of Leonard Garcia and Clay Guida, “El Matador” aims to snap a four-fight losing skid that dates back to 2018. He has not competed since an April 2021 loss to Chris Gonzalez in Bellator.

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