Daniel Cormier’s flyweight fighter overcame a costly foul to advance in The Ultimate Fighter 33 tournament.
Representing Team Cormier this week was Kazakhstan’s Alibi Idiris. The undefeated fighter took on Chael Sonnen’s Furkatbek Yokubov (Uzbekistan) and relied heavily on his wrestling to earn a decision win.
Idiris’ performance wasn’t without its hiccups. Yokubov appeared to have the advantage on the feet early in the fight, catching Idiris with body kicks and timely counter punches. However, after a brief pause in the action when Yokubov accidentally connected with a low blow, Idiris closed the distance and worked to take Yokubov to the mat.
With referee Jason Herzog warning Yokubov about grabbing the fence, Idiris powered through to drag Yokubov down and then started doing damage with ground-and-pound. Yokubov made it to Round 2, which led to a frantic striking exchange in which Idiris poked Yokubov in the eye. Herzog acted decisively, docking Idiris a point.
In the end, the penalty didn’t matter, as Yokubov dominated the round with his wrestling again en route to winning the two-round fight.
Team Cormier now has its second flyweight in the semifinals, with Yokubov joining teammate Imanol Rodriguez. The other flyweight in the bracket so far is Team Sonnen’s Joseph Morales. Overall, Cormier now holds a 4-1 lead in the series with his welterweights Daniil Donchenko and Jeff Creighton also advancing.
This week’s episode saw Cormier bring in two special guests to speak to his team: TUF 24 cast member Brandon Moreno and Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark. Moreno drove home the value of the TUF experience to Cormier’s team, explaining how he lost his first and only fight on the show and later went on to become a two-time UFC flyweight champion.
Clark, Cormier’s fellow ESPN analyst, gave Idiris and the yellow team a pep talk before it was time to fight.
In next week’s welterweight matchup, Team Cormier’s Alex Sanchez (Mexico) fights Team Sonnen’s Matt Dixon (USA).
The Ultimate Fighter 33 airs live every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Unlike most editions of TUF, coaches Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen will not fight at the conclusion of the season as both are long retired.
The finalists of the TUF 33 welterweight and flyweight tournaments will compete for a six-figure UFC contract in the show’s live finale fights. A date for those bouts is yet to be announced.
Here are the TUF 33 rosters divided 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
Here are the quarterfinal results so far:
Joseph Morales def. Eduardo Henrique via first-round submission (rear-naked choke)
Daniil Donchenko def. Richard Martins via decision
Imanol Rodriguez def. Arshiyan Memon via first-round TKO (strikes)
Jeff Creighton def. Andreeas Binder via decision
Alibi Idiris def. Furkatbek Yokubov via decision
Advancing to semifinals: Morales, Donchenko, Rodriguez, Creighton, Idiris
Eliminated: Henrique, Martins, Memon, Binder, Yokubov
