A competitor mentored by Daniel Cormier has achieved the finals on The Ultimate Fighter 33.
This week’s installment initiated the flyweight semifinals, featuring Team Cormier’s Alibi Idris (Kazakhstan), who maintained his impressive streak by defeating Team Chael Sonnen’s Roybert Echeverria (Venezuela) in the opening round.
Idris applied relentless pressure throughout the crucial match, launching powerful strikes from the onset. Cormier found himself advising Idris to moderate his pace, yet Idris’s aggressive approach ultimately proved successful. After thwarting a takedown attempt by Echeverria, Idris shifted the momentum by pursuing him and executing a successful takedown of his own.
Echeverria fought valiantly to escape Idris’s control, yet exposed himself while attempting to regain his feet. Idris unleashed a swift flying knee that staggered Echeverria, enabling Idris to follow up with strikes, leading to a technical knockout.
Idris now holds the distinction of being the first fighter from TUF 33 to secure a spot in this season’s final showdown. He is set to face either his teammate Imanol Rodriguez (Mexico) or Team Sonnen’s Joseph Morales (USA), who will compete in the other flyweight semifinal bout.
The upcoming episode will showcase two fighters from Team Cormier in the first welterweight semifinal, as Jeff Creighton (USA) takes on Rodrigo Sezinando (Brazil).
The outcome of the fight complemented Cormier’s triumph in this season’s Coaches’ Challenge against Sonnen. Cormier and Sonnen engaged in a best-of-three pickleball match, which proved to be a largely one-sided affair.
Sonnen presented minimal resistance as Cormier accumulated points, with Sonnen only scoring when Cormier committed repeated foot faults. Despite Cormier’s occasional disagreements with the officials, he maintained control for the majority of the match and secured two easy victories to defeat Sonnen, earning a $10,000 prize for himself and $2,500 for each of his team members.
The Ultimate Fighter 33 is broadcast live every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
In a departure from previous seasons of TUF, coaches Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen will not engage in a fight at the season’s conclusion, as both have been retired for some time.
The finalists from the TUF 33 welterweight and flyweight tournaments will contend for a lucrative UFC contract in the show’s live finale fights. A specific date for these matches is yet to be determined.
Here are the TUF 33 rosters, categorized by team:
Team Cormier
Flyweights
- Eduardo Henrique (13-2), Brazil
- Alibi Idiris (10-0), Kazakhstan
- Imanol Rodriguez (5-0), Mexico
- Tumelo Manyamala (6-1), South Africa
Welterweights
- Rodrigo Sezinando (8-1), Brazil
- Daniil Donchenko (11-2), Ukraine
- Jeff Creighton (11-2-1), USA
- Alex Sanchez (15-3), Mexico
Team Sonnen
Flyweights
- Joseph Morales (12-2), USA
- Furkatbek Yokubov (13-4), Uzbekistan
- Roybert Echeverria (10-2), Venezuela
- Arshiyan Memon (7-0), India
Welterweights
- Diego Bianchini (9-1), Brazil
- Matt Dixon (11-1), USA
- Richard Martins (9-1), Brazil
- Andreeas Binder (10-1, 1 NC), Ireland
The semifinal results and future matchups are detailed below:
Flyweight
Alibi Idris defeated Roybert Echeverria via a technical knockout (strikes) in the first round
Imanol Rodriguez versus Joseph Morales
Welterweight
Daniil Donchenko versus Matt Dixon
Jeff Creighton versus Rodrigo Sezinando
The results from the quarterfinal matches are as follows:
Joseph Morales defeated Eduardo Henrique via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round
Daniil Donchenko defeated Richard Martins by decision
Imanol Rodriguez defeated Arshiyan Memon via a technical knockout (strikes) in the first round
Jeff Creighton defeated Andreeas Binder by decision
Alibi Idiris defeated Furkatbek Yokubov by decision
Matt Dixon defeated Alex Sanchez via a technical knockout (strikes) in the first round
Roybert Echeverria defeated Tumelo Manyamala via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round
Rodrigo Sezinando defeated Diego Bianchini by decision
