Dana White was blown away by the latest fight on The Ultimate Fighter 33.
It wasn’t a technical masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but UFC flyweight hopefuls Imanol Rodriguez (Mexico) and Arshiyan Memon (India) certainly entertained the onlookers at UFC APEX, including White, their potential boss. In the end, it was Rodriguez who came out on top with a blistering standing TKO win in the first round.
Team Daniel Cormier’s Rodriguez (5-0) and Team Chael Sonnen’s Memon (7-0) both entered this week’s fight with undefeated records, and their raw talent and inexperience were on full display. Rodriguez continually landed his right hand on a retreating Memon, who seemed caught off guard by Rodriguez’s aggression. A Rodriguez body kick had Memon wincing and Rodriguez pounced for the finish, but somehow Memon managed to survive and recover.
Rodriguez didn’t let up. Memon was firing wild and then made the mistake of telegraphing a takedown, which Rodriguez stuffed before taking Memon’s back. He flattened Memon out, forcing Memon to turn over and give up full mount. Again, Memon somehow slipped out of a disadvantageous position.
His luck soon ran out, though. Inexplicably bursting with confidence, Memon dropped his hands and prompted Rodriguez to bring it on, which Rodriguez did with several right hands to the face. Rodriguez battered Memon against the cage, throwing bombs until referee Mark Smith jumped in for the save.
Afterwards, White praised both competitors for the effort, telling Memon “that’s one of the best fights I’ve seen in a minute.”
Cormier is now up 2-1 on opposing coach Sonnen, with Rodriguez joining welterweight teammate Daniil Donchenko in the winner’s circle.
Also on this episode, Sonnen brought in another former TUF standout as a guest coach, TUF 20 winner and inaugural UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza.
In next week’s welterweight matchup, Team Cormier’s Jeff Creighton (USA) fights Team Sonnen’s Andreeas Binder (Ireland).
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 (11-3-1), 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)
Advancing to semifinals: Morales, Donchenko, Rodriguez
Eliminated: Henrique, Martins, Memon
